If It Means a Lot to You
by iChels
Summary: Seth's imprint is a hybrid named Seraphina. When mysterious, and ruthless, vampires have it in for the Cullens, it could flip the very fabric of their lives upside down. Meanwhile, Seraphina is growing up, and sparks are flying. Canon/Seth&OC.
1. On Angels, Heaven, and Hell

_A/N: Hello, good people of fandom! This is my new fanfiction. It's gonna be a long one with updates and everything, so if you like what you see, please reveiw, and subscribe! I would love to have lots of people enjoy my stories, but hey, wouldn't every author? ;) I had an old story, but it was deleted due to certain issues I had with it (i.e., I really didn't like where I was going with it), but as for this story, I have it planned out._

_This is one of the few times you'll see this particular POV featured in the story. So...enjoy Alice, everyone._

_Xoxo, Chels. _

**Disclaimer: I do not own this lovely series, as much as I would like to. I own the plot line of this fanfiction and the characters that I spent effort in creating, that are not mentioned in the saga. **

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><p><strong>Alice POV<strong>

"Good morning, beautiful," Japser said to me softly, nuzzling my neck.

"Mmm." I arched my head back slightly and let his lightly trail kisses down the side of my neck. I felt the soft down of his honey-blond hair tickle my throat ever so slightly, his cool breath just below my ear. This was heaven.

We had just had a long night of passionate love-making. I curled my small frame into his muscular one. I could feel individual indentations marring his pale marble skin, reminders of his old life. Mindlessly, I began softly stroking the scars on his chest- a promise on my part. I wouldn't ever let anything bad happen to him.

"Alice," his whispered into my ear. He said it with such worshipping awe that I immediately looked into his eyes. They were full of such love and adoration for me- _me_- that my breath caught in my throat.

I let my hand float through his hair. His eyes closed at my touch, and his forehead fell onto my chest. We layed there wordlessly, me holding him, petting his beautiful hair.

Out of habit, I searched the future events for today. Edward and Bella were going to go shopping for their trip to England, where Edward would buy her _another_ expensive piece of jewelry...Carlisle was going to work...Esme was going to finish that painting today...Emmett and Rosalie were going to have sex (I tried to push _that _vision away)...and then I got to Jasper and I's vision. Jasper and I were going hunting, and then suddenly my vision trickled off a few seconds later. My body went numb.

Jasper sensed my alarm, and looked up into my eyes with worry. "Alice darlin', what's wrong?"

I stared at my husband with horror in my eyes.

"I can't see," I whispered futilely.

"Wait- what?" Japser replied, rising himself off of me, pulling me up with him. "What can't you see?"

"Us, Jazz!" I practically yelled. "We were going to go hunting, and then all of the sudden we...disappear." I threw my head into my hands.

"Maybe we cross paths with Jacob or Seth?" he said, his eyebrows crinkling with worry.

I closed my eyes and shook my head. "I have no clue."

I felt him kiss my temple. "You're watching all of the Volturi's decisions. Every single one of them. No one else has any animosity towards our family. They haven't decided anything for us in awhile...I think you're overreating."

I turned my eyes to him. "I don't know, Jazz..."

"Listen, if I truly believed we had anything to worry about, I wouldn't let you step foot out of this house. I don't think anything bad will happen." I felt him put his hand on the small of my back.

I averted my eyes downward. He was staring at me intently, trying to pry a response out. Eventually, I huffed a sigh.

"How badly do you have to hunt?" I said with slight ruefulness, and I peeked upwards again with a small smile playing at my lips. His eyes were turning into a dark amber, which meant in about a day or so they'd be black. His beautiful eyes, so loving and caring for me...his beautiful chisled face, so handsome...his beautiful skin, marred but perfect in its own way...

I felt myself get lost in him. I was truly shocked when I felt his lips connect with my nose suddenly. "Done with the inspection, Mrs. Cullen?"

I smiled a bit more, and I leaned in to kiss him tenderly. His mouth moved softly against mine in a sweet yet passionate kiss.

I pulled away a little bit, and pushed myself off of him. He layed there in front of me like a fallen angel, so beautiful with the morning's rays glinting off of him that I almost fell right back on top of him and finished what we started last night. But being that I actually had self control and knew that he needed to hunt, I tried to force my self to walk in the opposite direction towards the closet. Of course, that didn't happen, and I couldn't pull my eyes away from his body.

He seemed to have the same dilemma.

Suddenly, I was graced with another vision. If we kept going in this direction, we would never leave this bedroom.

I shut my eyes tight and ran to the closet. I must have looked like a character because Jasper burst out laughing.

When I was safe in the confines of my closet, I opened my eyes. Most people would think that it's ridiculous that my closet is bigger than my room, but I thought it was only right. Rows upon rows of beautiful clothes lined the walls, and I felt myself sigh lovingly. I loved my clothes.

I picked out a gray knit sweater that fell just above my knees, black leggings, and leopard-print ballet flats. I walked to my massive jewelry box and chose a long necklace from one of my endless assortments of accessories, and slipped it around my neck. I saw my favorite piece of jewlery glint subtly on top of the case, and I slipped it onto my left hand's ring finger. A circular diamond with a million brilliant facets was front and center. The white gold band was made to look like it was twisting, and where each twisting band met each other, a small but expertly cut black diamond was placed. My absolute favorite piece of jewelry.

I walked out to the bedroom again, and saw that my husband had simply put on the same clothes he wore yesterday. When he saw the outraged look on my face, he smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry, darlin'."

_Pick your battles wisely, Alice, _I told myself. I shook my head, and deciding it wasn't worth the bantering, I took his hand into mine and together we walked outside.

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><p>Wind whistled through my ears as I did an expert spin across the river flowing outside the house. We had moved to Idaho about 3 months ago since we had spent more time in Forks than any other town. Nessie was now done growing officially at 6 and a half years old, and she and Jake had recently decided to...consummate their relationship, much to Edward's fury. Fortunately for Nessie, her mother vouched on Jake's behalf, and like a normal 21st century couple, were now living together about 10 minutes away, unmarried for the time being. Edward was unhappy about it, but Bella told him to realize that we didn't live in the same pure idealogical times anymore, and to stop grouching. He did, but only to keep his wife and daughter happy.<p>

When we moved, Leah decided to stay behind. She was working on controlling her phasing so she could stop "going wolf" as Jasper had once put it, and now apparently rarely ever phased unless she lost her temper badly.

Embry followed us too, but Quil stayed behind, for Claire's sake. Everyone understood. We bought Seth and Embry and Jake a house a few miles away, although Jacob now had a place of his own.

I still couldn't see werewolves. About a year ago though, I had a blurry and obscure vision of Nessie. It had been something trivial, like her doing her makeup a certain way, but it was still a huge step. I found that I could see Nessie if it was something very concrete and with little chance of changing- in other words, Bella's stubborn personality that she passed onto Nessie finally came in handy. I still couldn't see her though if she was with Jacob, which was pretty much all the time nowadays.

As Jasper took my hand, I couldn't help but worry about my niece. She and Jacob wanted to get married and have children, but Carlisle said that the latter might not be possible.

_Bella, Rosalie, and I stood off onto the side as Carlisle finished his x-ray of Nessie's lower half._

_Nessie nervously got off the table. His was a bundle of nerves and worry as this was her first x-ray, and she was worried she'd never be able to have children. I put a soothing hand on her back as she rested her head on Bella's shoulder. Rosalie petted her smooth, curly hair._

"_I'll be right back," Carlisle said softly, patting Nessie's shoulder as he left the room with her x-ray. I could feel her trembling a little bit._

"_Hon, you're going to shake yourself right out of your socks. Or should I say, your Michael Kors heels," I said at an attempt of humor._

_It worked. She let out a soft laugh. "It would be a shame...I do like my heels."_

_I grinned at her. They were a Christmas present I gave her this year. "Your welcome."_

"_Nessie," I heard Carlisle call from his office. I took my niece's hand, and the four of us walked to Carlisle's study._

_He was sitting on the edge of his desk, with a slightly grim look on his face. Nessie's heart stuttered nervously._

"_What's the verdict?" Rosalie asked._

"_Well, it's been established that Renesmee had her menstrual cycle, but what I'm worried at is the size of her ovaries," Carlisle began, "They're miniscule."_

"_What do you mean?" Renesmee asked, scratching the top of her head._

_Carlisle sighed. "I don't know how many more periods you're going to end up having, Nessie."_

_Nessie's hand dropped. "But Grandpa, can you find out somehow?"_

"_There's no way to tell how many more you'll go through. To the best of my knowledge, your periods are going to be numbered, and you're only going to have a short amount of time where you can bear children. If you wanted children, if that was even a possibility, I'd say you'd have to get started...now."_

"_What do you mean, if that was even possible?" Rosalie asked angrily. Bella nudged her._

_Carlisle ignored Rose's tone. "Considering Nessie's nature, and her decreasing changes throughout her body, it might be difficult for her to get pregnant, if she could get pregnant at all. If she did end up pregnant, I would want to call her to bedrest as much as possible, since we don't know what kind of baby Jacob and Nessie would produce."_

_Nessie slumped a little bit. I threw my arms around her, and she sobbed into my shoulder. "I'm such a freak! I can't be vampire enough to have the same abilities and be the same help as the rest of you, but I can't be human enough to have a flipping child or do anything _remotely _normal. It's not fair!" Nessie screeched._

_Unfortunately, Edward and Jacob decided to come back at the same moment that Nessie said this. I felt them both freeze downstairs, and then thaw out almost instantaneously to race to the study._

_Edward got there first._

"_What's wrong, Renesmee?" Edward asked worriedly._

_Wordlessly, Nessie opened up her arms with tears dripping down her face, and whispered, "Daddy." Edward immediately hugged his daughter._

_Jacob stepped into the room, his eyes focused on no one but Renesmee. When Nessie finally let go of Edward, she ran into Jacob's arms and cried with more gusto than I have ever seen her cry before. My cold heart broke with hers._

Currently, Nessie and Jake were trying to do everything in their power to get pregnant. Nothing had success yet.

"Whatcha thinkin' about, darlin'?" Jasper asked, looking at my scrunched up features.

"Just worrying, like always," I said with a small smile.

"Oh hon, I don't think anything bad will happen to us in this forest," Jasper said, caressing my cheekbone.

I was just about to correct him when the smell hit us.

Human blood. Fresh human blood.

Jasper went rigid beside me. Suddenly, I was flashed with images of him attack this woman, as I saw, but I couldn't see the woman. She was faceless and blurry.

"Jazz, stop!" I slapped him across the face. It shook him out of his fury long enough for me to cover his mouth and nose.

He blinked a couple of times.

"Hold your breath and run," I whispered to him.

His eyes seemed a little out of focus, but they were full of fear and understanding. I pushed him in the opposite direction of the smell. Jasper instantly turned on his heel and ran towards the house.

I wasn't in hunting mode yet, but the woman smelled really good, so I decided to hold my breath for good measure. I drifted into the forest deeper, following the trail where I last remembered the scent to be.

What I found would change me forever.

The first thing I saw was a man. He was obviously vampire. His features were strained.

His head snapped in my direction, and his teeth bared in warning. I stood stock still, not wanting a fight.

And then I saw the woman.

She was human, and pregnant. Very pregnant. And in pain.

Her back was arched, and she was throwing up blood. Her back shuddered with convulsions, and a horrible ripping sound was audible from the center of her belly. The man next to her obviously didn't care about her, and stood there watching with a greedy glint in his eye.

His lips pulled back from his teeth in a sort of sadistic smile as she let out the most terrible scream I've ever heard.

How long had I been standing that? For the first time as a vampire, I felt cold. I felt numb, and useless, and...human. I felt human, feeling like I was unable to do anything. I had never seen something so horrible in my life.

I suddenly had a vision of Carlisle and Edward searching for me. I decided to stay where I was, so they could find me. The man and woman seemed almost oblivious to my presence after that. I stood there watching this woman scream before me like she was having her arm sawed off with a dull knife.

The man moved so fast I barely registered it. He ripped off the woman's shirt, where her belly was shuddering violently. Her naked chest was bared to the cold, and I almost lunged at the man, yelling at him that he should at least have the common decency to cover her up.

Only one thing could have stopped me from doing just that.

And that is what I was currently watching.

I felt myself shudder as I watched small fingers poke through the soft, damaged flesh of her belly. The woman did not seem to have the energy to scream anymore, and she simply lay limp in the cold, most likely freezing beyond belief, preparing to die.

A head penetrated. A small tuff of hair rose from the prison womb where it had to be subjected to. Unaware of its atrocious birth, it crawled out, innocent as ever, onto the woolen blanket. The vampire reached down to pick up his offspring.

"NO!" Edward screamed as he burst through the foliage. The vampire spun around, teeth baring, but not in time for Edward's cobra-strike. Before the monster had a change to defend itself, Edward has his teeth on the vampire's throat, ripping his head clean off.

His head dropped uselessly to the floor of the forest, his face a permanent, eerie, evil version of a smile.

I shuddered away form it.

"Alice," Carlisle said as Edward began dismembering the horrible thing, placing his hand on my shoulder. I immediately went on the defensive. I took my crouch low, feeling the venom pooling on my tongue planned my attack. Carlisle brought his hands up in a defeated gesture, backing away slowly.

I immediately straightened up. Carlisle was not a threat. No threat. No threat.

"Alice, please calm down," Carlisle pleaded. He looked...scared? _I _was the threat right now.

No threat.

No threat.

Baby.

Ripping.

_That's a horrible, terrible sound..._

Baby.

No threat.

"Um, Carlisle," Edward said, giving me a wary glance. No threat. "I think Alice has gone into the vampire version of shock."

Just then, a small little cry sounded from the blanket. Three pairs of vampire eyes snapped over to the small baby sitting naked on the woolen blanket, watching us with too-intelligent dark blue eyes with a slightly amused expression on its face.

I distinctly saw the little bite mark on the side of its mother. I shuddered again.

"No, little baby," Edward chastisized, picking up the tender thing in his arms, "We do not eat people."

The woman cried out in yearning, the absence of her baby known to her. She blindly lifted her arms to cradle it, and realized it wasn't there. They dropped limply to her sides and she struggled to open her eyes.

"You," she croaked out, looking directly at me. My insides froze over. "You...my baby...yours. Always yours...but my little..._angel,_" she whispered, and her heart gallumped one more time, and then all was silent.

Mine.

Baby. Mine.

_Baby. _Mine.

Baby. _Mine._

Baby.

I dropped to my knees, feeling myself completely give out. I wished then I was able to pass out and give my mind a chance to catch up. But I was not so lucky, and my acute vampire senses, for the first time since I awoke in this life, lagged behind me.

Carlisle immediately began to tend to the woman, if you could call her that. She was a broken, mangled piece of flesh and bones, abused and used to carry a child, a child that had no doubtedly killed her, yet she called it her angel.

I wasn't sure if I believed in angels, or heaven and hell.

All I knew is that this woman had sacrificed her life to hand _me _a half-human, half-vampire baby.

This could be a problem.

_A/N: There you have it! Please reveiw this chapter to know what you guys think or what I could improve on. _


	2. Fate

_A/N: New chapter! In case you didn't know, this story is named after the song by A Day To Remember. I highly recommend you checking them out if you don't know who they are. _

**Disclaimer: Don't own Twilight or any recognizable characters, just this plot line and the baby. **

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><p><strong>Alice POV<strong>

I've never needed Japser so badly in my life.

I suddenly felt the weight of his absence crushing me like a million bricks. Jasper should be here with me, telling me right from wrong. He should be here supporting me, making sure I didn't fail my family or this child that has been thrust in my hands, figuratively.

Baby.

I glanced over at the small little thing in Edward's arms. Edward was quietly murmuring to it, telling it that it shouldn't be afraid, that we were its family now, that we didn't eat people and blood could be found in the form of animals. Its too-intelligent eyes were hanging onto its every word like it could already understand him.

"She can," Edward said, quietly to me.

"She?" I asked.

He didn't respond, and only glanced down at the innocent little creature in his arms. Something on Edward's faced changed as he looked at her. It was transporting him back to a darker time in his life, a time where he almost lost his Bella.

"Yes," he answered my thoughts, "I was thinking of precisely that. The woman's body looks almost exactly like Bella's after she gave birth to Nessie." He shuddered.

I looked over at the body where Carlisle was tending to. Carlisle was wrapping her small frame in the woolen blanket with a grim look on his face. Her small features seems to be marred in a permanent expression of pain and suffering.

Yet there was something entirely different about her eyes. Her deep, dark eyes seemed to hold an entire meaning all together. Deep within her eyes, so masked that one couldn't see it without looking closely, was the expression of victory. Pure, unadulterated victory, as triumphant as I had ever seen in a person. She had sacrificed her life bravely in front of the throws of a monster, only to thrust her..._angel _at me. She believed I could give it a chance.

Did she not know my nature?

Even now, I struggled with the scent of blood that was potruding off her body. I had not fed, and I attributed the sight I saw as my restraint. Only _that_ sight, the sight I just witnessed, could make a hungry vampire freeze in his or her tracks.

What would I do with a baby? Would I be able to provide for it? Would I live up to the expectations of its mother? I felt unworthy to do such things for this child, since her mother seemed to look like she was handing me over her life's hopes and dreams. Maybe she was.

But there was something in the expression in her eyes, so righteous and ringing with truth, that it made me feel _honored _that she chose to love her baby.

My baby.

"I need Jasper," I whispered to my brother. He looked at me with understanding before pulling out his cell phone to dial my husband.

"Jasper," Edward began, running a hand through his untidy bronze hair, "Get down here. Alice needs you," he said shortly, and then hung up the phone. He pushed it back into his jeans, and walked over to where I was still sunken into the snow.

"Alice, are you sure about this?" he asked worriedly. No doubt he had listened to my inner monologue. "This is kind of a big deal. I can...Bella and I, we can take her in, if you would prefer." He placed a hand on my shoulder and looked at me in my eyes. I met his with a conviction I had never known before.

Her baby- my baby- would be cared for like no other baby before her. I would shower her with as much love and care as I could muster out of my body. I would drag her on endless shopping sprees, and I would be there for her through every injury and ailment, whether it be a scraped knee or a broken heart. I would be a protective yet understanding mother, with a loving father. She would have a family that would be there for her through everything that she did, and would support her through every decision she made. No matter what her life held for her, no matter what powers she possessed or who she loved, I knew one thing- I would love her until the day I became a pile of ashes.

"I see," Edward said gruffly. "Well, then I would be honored to have such a special...and loved niece."

He offered me the baby, which I automatically cradled to my heart. I could feel her little tummy rumbling with hunger, since she had not had anything to eat since her little...meal when she emerged into this world. Her dark hair, much like her previous mother's, was wavy and thick. It was already down to her shoulders.

Her too-intelligent eyes, dark blue and brilliant like sapphires, looked into my ever-changing golden ones. They seemed to go straight into my soul.

So rarely do we change, but I already loved her so entirely that I could barely contain it. I knew she was already the most perfect thing I had ever laid eyes on, this tiny little angel that seemed to grace every presence she existed in.

By the look on Edward's face, I knew he too already loved her.

Japser emerged out of the foliage at this moment, and suddenly I ached for his presence to be at my side. I whipped my head around to see that his eyes were transfixed on the perfect little being I held in my hands.

He gracefully walked over to my side, his face filled with awe as he took in the other most perfect thing in my life.

"Darlin', you should feel what's coming off of you right now," he whispered, and dropped down on his knees at my side.

I smiled at him. It was a small smile, but filled with hope. "I love her."

His golden eyes met mine. "I know," he whispered, and returned my smile.

He looked down at his new daughter. I watched him carefully as his face changed. It began with an amazed awe, and then slowly transformed into something that I alone had only seen on his face- love.

"Can I?" he asked softly, and reached out his arms. I immediately offered him my most precious parcel, knowing that next to me, was now his too.

"Well, hello little angel. Welcome to this world," he said, slowly running his hand through his daughter's hair. He reached down to press his cold lips against her hot forehead. Her little heartbeat fluttered as she reached up to touch the cresent scar on Jasper's eyebrow.

"Oh, don't worry about that, darlin'," he whispered, "I've seen real evil in this world, don't you worry. In fact, I wasn't so good once. But I can assure you that you and your mother are two of the purest creatures I've ever met. If anyone tells you otherwise, just look at what's in here," he placed a finger on her heart, "and you'll never go wrong."

Her little eyelids fluttered as she closed her eyes, a small smile on her perfect lips.

My heart expanded, but not at all in a painful way. There was no doubt in my mind that she would be the most loved baby on the planet, even if she didn't have a name.

"Jazz, what do we call her?" I asked.

His eyes seemed to become confused. "I have no clue. What's fitting?"

I pursed my lips and looked down at her. She was small, precious, and pure. She was an angel. How could you put a name on something so perfect?

I trailed my fingers across her forehead, at the same time I heard Edward let out a sharp gasp.

I snapped my head to his direction. His eyes did not seem to register the menacing glare that Jasper was giving him as his eyes bored into my baby.

"What's wrong?" I asked worriedly, glancing down at her.

He shook his head and walked over to her small body. I tensed as he dropped to his knees as well. "Her...her gift," he whispered.

"Gift?" Jasper asked.

"If only you could see her mind right now," he said, "Like mother, like daughter." He looked up at me, giving me a signature crooked smile.

I cocked my eyebrow.

"Her gift. She can see visions of the future, but through her dreams. Right now, she's dreaming of the name you will give her. It's clear in her mind. And also, she loves you too. Already. Right now, she can see Jasper and Emmett wrestling, and she is on...um, well, she's on someone's lap." His voice became confused.

"You can't see?" Jasper asked.

"No, I can, that part's just a little unclear. I think it has to do with the fact that she's so young, but I think it's outstanding that she can already read this far ahead without ever seeing Emmett's face." He reached out to touch his niece's forehead.

My little angel, so gifted already. I smiled. Like mother, like daughter.

"What's the name we give her?" Jasper asked.

Edward smiled. "Oh, I think I'll leave that up to you to figure out. By the way, it's a nice name, Alice. I wouldn't have thought of it. It's very fitting though," Edward winked, and stood up. I groaned a little bit.

"Pretty please?" I asked, jutting my lip out a little bit. He just laughed.

"Nope, little sis. It's part of the big brother duty, to be annoying and all." He smiled and looked back into the trees. "Carlisle needs me. I have to explain to the others what's going on. See you." And with that, he darted into the trees.

Jasper sighed. "He can be so aggravating sometimes."

I giggled, and then looked down at my baby. She did not stir, although the cold must have been bothering her. She was still naked, and sleeping in a vampire's icy arms. There was no way she could be warm.

"Jasper, give me your sweater," I told him, and he took off his navy blue sweater to reveal his naked chest. He handed me it.

I wrapped her warm body in her father's sweater, and smiled in delight as she snuggled closer into my arms. Out of impulse, I pressed my lips to her forehead.

She smelled like lavendar and musk. It was sweet, yet mysterious and enticing. But when I pulled back, there was nothing mysterious about her face. She was so peaceful. My little angel, so good and pure and true.

What would be a name fitting for her? I went through every name I knew, in every language, sifting through every meaning. Every single time I tried to go farther, it would end up falling short. I tried using my power, but my decision was not concrete enough, and since my baby was a hybrid, I was having trouble seeing her as it was.

I sighed. My little angel, nameless.

I started going through legends. I contemplated naming her after a Greek goddess, but felt that she would feel like she was trying to live up to the myth. Besides, Greek goddesses were not as pure as she was.

After awhile of thinking and brainstorming, I was suddenly graced with a perfect name. A name so fitting it seemed like it had been made for her. It hit me like a ton of bricks, and I knew that it would never have a being that could wear that name so perfectly again.

"Seraphina."

"What?" Jasper asked.

I looked up at him with a grin on my face. "Seraphina. Have you ever heard of a seraphim?"

He shook his head.

"A seraphim is a baby angel. It's the purest angel in heaven."

He looked down at his own baby angel. "It's perfect."

"Seraphina." I looked down at my daughter. How could anything like her be anything short of an angel?

"What about middle names?" Jasper asked.

I pursed my lips, but I was coming up short again. Naming babies was hard work! How did Bella ever come up with Renesmee?

"I have no clue," I told him honestly, and looked up at him with a sheepish expression. He kissed my forehead.

"Marie," he responded.

"Marie?" I asked, confused. Bella's middle name was Marie. Were we starting a trend?

"It's your real first name, in French. Seraphina Marie. Two of the purest creatures I know."

I kissed him on the lips. "You're too good."

He shook his head. "Not before I met you. You made me what I am, and now, this little angel will continue to change me to something even better."

We both looked down at our saving grace. I said, "Seraphina Marie Cullen-Whitlock, welcome to this world."

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><p><strong>Jasper POV<strong>

We took our time heading back to the house. Alice was now holding Seraphina Marie Cullen-Whitlock in her arms, staring at her wonderously. I watched as Alice ran her fingers through her daughter's hair, kiss her forhead, and mumur sweet words to her sleeping figure. The emotion radiating off my love was exponential.

"We'll be okay, Jasper?" she asked suddenly, looking over at me. She seemed frightened.

I ducked to kiss the top of her head. "I know we will."

We arrived back at the house. Carefully, not to jostle her, we did a small, graceful leap through the air and absorbed the impact on the balls of our feet to not wake Seraphina. She didn't ever stir.

Six vampires waited for us on the front steps.

The first one over was Rosalie. She looked insanely...jealous.

"Alice, are you sure you can handle a baby?" she asked warily, placing a hand on Alice's shoulder.

Her features scrunched up. "Of course we can. I love her so much already it's ridiculous. Her old mother wanted me to take her, and so I did. Now..._I'm _a mom." With this, Seraphina was starting to stir.

Suddenly, we had an audience. My family was standing around us, watching the event unfold. Seraphina opened her dark blue eyes and took in all the members of her new family.

Esme gasped. "Oh, she's precious! Can I hold her?" she pleaded, looking into my eyes and jutting her lip.

I chuckled. "Of course you can, Ma. She _is _your granddaughter."

Esme squealed in delight as Alice passed her Seraphina with a smile on her face. Seraphina twisted around in the sweater to get a clear look of her new grandmother.

If Esme could cry, she would be. Seraphina grinned at her, and pressed her palm to her face. Nothing happened, unlike what happened with Renesmee, but they just didn't know her power yet.

"You know Alice," Bella piped up, standing next to Edward with a smile on her face, "She kinda looks like you. She's a tiny little thing, you know."

The more I looked at my daughter, the more she started to resemble Alice. She had the same hair color and some of the same features. Another thing, she was small. Smaller than Nessie ever was at birth. Also from what what research Alice has done for her past life, Alice also had dark blue eyes.

She really was our daughter.

"I think she has Jasper's hair though," Alice joked, "Wavy and soft, but kinda messy."

I was about to argue with this when Bella laughed. "It's okay Jazz, I think the men in this family just have naturally unruly hair," she said, and reached up to muss her husband's hair playfully. He laughed.

Seraphina was passed to everyone. I got a bit nervous when Rose took her, and the glint in her eye said that she was jealous. But other than that, she fell in love right away like the others did. Emmett promised he would teach her every sport imaginable, even if she did end up growing up to be a shortie. Bella and Edward cooed all over her, and Bella looked close to crying. Carlisle held his new granddaughter in his arms, and reached down to kiss her overly-loved forehead. As expected, she had everyone wrapped around all ten of her fingers by the end of it.

I took Seraphina back into my arms, and as a family all nine of us walked inside.

"Where are the wolves?" Alice asked as Rosalie and Bella flitted upstairs to pick out an outfit for her.

"I called Jacob earlier," Edward responded, "I told him about Seraphina. He and Nessie are on their way over here."

As if on cue, Nessie and Jacob burst into the living room with broad grins on their faces.

"I have a cousin! Oh, this is so exciting!" Nessie said happily, looking at Jacob.

Jacob was grinning. "All I know is that if she grows up to be anything like Alice, she'll be a force of nature."

I laughed and passed Nessie her new cousin. Nessie immediately fondled all over her, telling her how much she loved her and how she could grow up with someone to talk to and gossip with.

"Where is Embry and Seth?" Alice asked Jacob.

"Embry is visiting in La Push right now. He won't be back until tomorrow evening. As for Seth, I called him. He's on his way over, but he picked up his phone while he was in the shower so I think it'll be awhile."

Jacob plopped onto the couch. "Hey Ness, could I hold my new family member too?"

She stuck her tongue out at him. "No need for the attitude."

Jake just laughed. "Love you too."

Nessie handed over Seraphina to Jake. He automatically smiled.

"Well, she sure is a looker. You're going to have to beat off the men with a stick around her," he joked.

I sighed. "I hope that's not the case."

Edward looked sympathetic. "It will be, trust me. God knows I had enough issues with Nessie over here."

"Hey!" she said indignantly, "I just had a few boyfriends."

Jake snorted. "A _few? _You had every single boy in your campus head over heels with you."

"But how many boyfriends did I _actually _have?" Nessie asked, crossing her arms.

They continued their bantering like this, while Seraphina watched with an amused expression. Finally, she started giggling, and we all looked at her.

Her little eyes twinkled gleefully as she let out a trilling giggle. If she was any more like Alice, I'd say she came straight _from _Alice.

Rosalie and Bella came back downstairs with dust all over them. "We had to look in the attic for some of Nessie's old things." Rosalie held out a white dress with frills on the hems.

She took a step forward and swiftly changed her niece into the dress. When she pulled back, everyone let out an "awwww." Her skin, creamy porcelain with a slight flush, stood out against the white of the dress. Her blue eyes twinkled again with the adoration of her family.

So much love for her, in such little time. It was funny how something so good could have come from a birth so monstrous.

It was Fate that handed me such an amazing child.

And it was Fate that made Seth Clearwater walk in through the door.

_A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger, guys! I'll try to get a new chapter up as soon as I can. I think most of you know what's going to happen. ;) Comment and subscribe._


	3. Souls and Babies

_A/N : Seth's turn! I've been super excited to write this in his perspective. :)_

**Disclaimer: Don't own any recognizable characters or the Twilight saga.**

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><p><strong>Seth POV<strong>

I woke up with the taste of lipstick and cheap alcohol in my mouth.

I groaned, and shielded my eyes from the light pouring in the window at seven in the morning. C'mon, really? Seven in the morning!

I rolled over to figure out what the hell happened. I know I got invited to a party last night...had a few drinks...

Well, maybe more than a few drinks.

I checked my surroundings. I was in my own bed, I think. I was alive, barely. However, I was not alone.

I looked over to see a blonde laying face down in between my sheets. By the look of her, she was naked, and fairly pretty. I started panicking, because I didn't remember taking her home with me.

I lifted up the sheets to look down at myself. I was still wearing the condom. I sighed in relief; drunk me at least had enough sense to use protection.

My head pounding painfully, I swung my legs over to the side of the bed. I felt lightheaded and sick, but I fought through it to reach down for my boxers. I padded into the kitchen to make coffee.

Living in Idaho, there wasn't a plethora of parties to go to. It wasn't like the Cullens lived in big cities anyways. I moved with Jake and Embry here, and since Embry was gone until tomorrow and Jake had a wife, I was bored out of my mind.

Well, until last night.

I remember my co-worker John was having a huge party at his house. He had apparently been a frat boy in college, and took his teachings to heart.

That party was _insane._

He lived far away enough in the country to not attract copious amounts of attention from the police, so it would be safe to say that it was nothing short of a _party._

I groaned again when my stomach rolled, but I held onto it. I plopped down on the couch, but the motion was too fast, and my stomach rolled again for the second time, except dangerously.

"Oh god," I muttered, and ran to the sink since there was no way I was getting to the bathroom in time. I threw up everything I drank the night before, and let me tell you, it was a lot.

"Holy shit, I'm never drinking again," I swore to myself and gave a mental point to the Hangover God, who was having his merry way with me today.

I looked outside and saw fresh snow on the ground. I vaguely remember it being cold last night, not that it bothered me.

"_Sethy boy," she slurred, drunkenly hanging onto my arm. I usually didn't like people calling me 'Sethy,' but tonight, it was hilarious. I snorted._

"_You're cute when you snort," she said seriously, her eyes huge with an apparently massive secret that she told me. It was too much. I doubled over, laughing until my sides hurt painfully._

_We stumbled out into the cold night air. I didn't feel much, but she immediately started shivering._

_Mandy? Miranda? Melissa? I couldn't remember her name, but I slung an arm around her shoulders like she was my best friend in the entire world. My vision started to blur slightly._

_She took this as an opportunity. She stepped closely into me and wrapped her arms around my neck. She tugged my neck down to meet her mouth, and my lips touched her ungracefully._

_She tasted like lipstick and vodka. We stood there like this, kissing, hands roaming brazenly. A few guys from their car egged us on, encouraging me to bring her home. Why not? She was super funny._

"_Come home with me," I slurred into her ear. _

_She giggled, which made me laugh. I laughed so hard I fell onto the pavement with a loud _oof_, and she dog-piled on top of me, laughing the entire time._

I didn't remember what happened after that. Apparently, I _did _take her home with me.

I saw my yellow Camaro parked haphazardly on the curb. What the hell? I slapped my forehead.

I _drove. _I can't believe I was so irresponsible.

The woman stirred, and woke up with a groan on her own lips. She didn't get around to putting clothes on. She shot off to the bathroom. I heard her empty her stomach contents into the toilet.

When she emerged, I was standing in the kitchen, pouring myself a cup of coffee. Thankfuly being a wolf, the massive headache I woke up with was now just a dull pain. She did not seem so lucky.

She was wearing my t-shirt from last night. She stumbled into my kitchen with bags under her eyes and her eyebrows scrunched painfully.

"I don't know what happened," she said honestly, and helped herself to a mug and coffee and creamer.

I shrugged, and took a sip of my coffee.

"Do you need a ride home?" I asked her.

"Yeah. I live just a few miles from here."

"Well, after I finish my coffee, I'll take you home," I told her with a smile.

That was me, perpetually nice, even though I was practically kicking her out of my house. She smiled back at me, and walked to the bedroom to locate the clothes that had been strewn all over the room. She held up her party dress, which was covered in mud and other obscenities.

"Um..." she began, grimacing.

"You can keep the shirt," I told her, grabbing my keys. Alice would make me throw it out anyways.

She nodded, and grabbing her shoes and purse, she followed me out into the car. Thankfully, neither of us were in the mood to talk, and she directed me home without much other conversation.

When I pulled up in front of an apartment complex, I looked at her. She smiled sheepishly. "Sorry about last night..."

"Don't worry about it. It was fun."

Her eyebrows scrunched together. "Yeah. Fun."

We both looked at each other, and then burst out laughing.

"Honestly," I said, "I don't remember anything past you dog-piling me last night."

She grinned. "Neither do I."

I held out my hand. "I'm Seth Clearwater, nice to meet you."

She shook it. "Maisy Cavanaugh, nice to meet you too."

She released my hand and sighed, and looked up at a top floor. "I should go."

"Bye," I said, reaching over to give her a hug. I thought this was acceptable. I mean, I just had sex with the woman, for crying out loud.

She stumbled out of my car and gave me a little wave before marching up the steps in Walk of Shame fashion. I chuckled, and peeled away from the curb.

When I got home, I changed my sheets and got in the shower. I still smelled like alcohol and Maisy.

I took my cell phone into the bathroom with me, out of impulse. I just had a feeling.

Like clockwork, five minutes into my shower with soap still in my hair, I heard my phone ring. I dried my hand off before putting it on speaker. "Yeah?"

"Hey Seth, it's Jake," he greeted, "...What's that noise?"

"The shower."

"You answered in the shower?" he chuckled.

I laughed. "Yeah. At this exact moment, I am currently shampooing my hair. What's up?"

"Um, this is kinda hard to explain, but..." he paused, "Alice and Jasper went hunting today, and they picked up the scent of fresh blood. Well, Japser doesn't have to best control so he bolted, and Alice went to go investigate. She walked in on a vampire and human."

"Feeding?" I asked warily. I felt a whisper of heat shiver down my spine.

"No. This is where things get sketchy. She walked in on the human woman giving _birth._ To a hybrid baby, like Ness."

I dropped the bottle in my hands. "Are you kidding?"

"Nope. The baby's here. The vampire watching her give birth was just standing there smiling, apparently."

"That's sick." The mental picture made my stomach roll for a third time. Who would just stand there and watch a woman be torn apart from the inside out?

"I know. So Edward and Carlisle tracked Alice, who basically went into the vampire version of shock. I don't blame her; you know how Shortie is, she's just a good person, and that was a horrifying scene...well, Edward tore the leech up and lit him on fire, and the woman died a little bit afterwards. Alice and Jasper are keeping the baby. They named her Seraphina Marie."

I shook my head. "This sounds like some bad gothic horror movie."

"It's all too much to believe, right? I remember when vampires could die with a wooden stake to the heart and sunlight. Now, they're sparkly and reproductive."

That would have been funny if not for the mental image still ricocheting in my skull.

"I don't know what to think," I told him honestly.

"I get you. I haven't met her yet; we're on our way over. Nessie's jumping up in down in her seat right now. Despite the horror of what just happened, Nessie's excited to have a cousin." I could almost hear Jacob roll his eyes.

"Hey, I'm not _bouncing!_" Nessie complained.

I heard Jacob suck in a breath to make a comeback. Before I could stick around for the beginnings of an arguement, I decided to cut them off short. "Hey, I'll see you in a few."

"'Kay. See you in a few, man." He hung up.

I washed the soap out of my hair. Really? A baby? It wasn't every day you saw a mother mutilated by her own baby in the middle of a forest. It must have been quite to coincidence to have Alice come across _that. _

Going quicker than I originally intended, I was out of the shower only five minutes later. I threw on the first clean clothes I saw, and I was still pulling my shoes on when I walked out to my car.

The drive to the Cullen's was about ten minutes long. I couldn't shake the feeling in the pit of my stomach that something was calling for me there. It was pulling me along, and I felt like I had no choice but to obey.

I pulled into the long gravel driveway of the Cullen mansion. I quickly threw my car into park when I got there, and I stomped up the steps to the door.

I pulled open the door, and saw that Rosalie was bent over the presumed baby, putting something on her. My feet acted to its own accord, dragging me closer, willing the blonde vampire to move.

Rosalie moved out of the way, and Seraphina's unusual dark-blue eyes met mine.

I was automatically filled with a glowing light that seemed to come from this little girl in Jacob's arms. It centered me, and I felt everything that I once was being snipped away by her force. My sister, my mother, my dead father, my allegiance to my new pack, my love for my old one, all floated away on its own accord. Nothing else mattered to me as I felt myself connect to her, as strong as a million iron bars, the new very center of my universe.

Seraphina Marie smiled at me.

My heart expanded, and my feet continued to move me to where she was. Vaguely, I heard snarling in the background. And then she was suddenly snatched from my line of sight.

My eyes peeled away from Seraphina long enough to see Jasper being held back by Emmett and Edward. His eyes were trained at me, and he was going to lunge; his golden eyes literally turning black with fury. Bella and Alice stepped into him line of sight, trying to calm him down. Rosalie and Nessie were standing in the corner clutching Seraphina, who was desperately trying to reach for me and giving out little grunts of frustration when her need- yes, need, I felt it like it was my own- wasn't being listened to by her new cousin and aunt.

My feet started drifting towards her when I felt a restraining hand on my shoulder. Jacob. "Dude, deja vu. I know it's tempting, but take it with a grain of salt." His eyes drifted over to my imprint's furious father.

Jasper's hissing and snarling had quieted down to a simple murderous glare in my direction. Alice had cupped his face with her hands, forcing him to listen to her. _Yes, Alice, please keep your husband from killing me, _I thought panickily.

"Jazz, there's nothing we can do," Alice pleaded, "They're soul mates-" She was cut off by his hissing. "You _know _there's nothing we can do, and you know by Jacob and Nessie's experience that she'll always have the very best babysitter, best friend, and when the time comes, boyfriend." Jasper winced at the last part. "Besides, it's _Seth. _You like Seth. He's a good kid."

Jasper's murderous glare softened ever so slightly. "Why are you okay with this, Alice?" he choked out.

"Honestly?" she asked, "Because I love Seth. Granted, I think imprinting is the weirdest phenomenon I have ever seen, but I _like _Seth. He's too sweet for his own good. If I had to choose anyone to imprint on our daughter, it would be him."

I felt a swell of love for that little pixie over there. "Love ya too, Alice."

She continued, "Jazz, just tune into the emotions _he's _feeling right now."

"I witnessed everything," he growled out with clenched teeth.

"Uncle Jazz," Nessie piped in, "If you witnessed it, you should know that the feelings he feels right now are 100% pure. All he wants is to be the best protecter she can ever have. And from a first-hand experience, I can tell you that growing up with your imprint is the greatest." She shot a little smile at Jake, and he grinned back.

Jasper seemed at least somewhat pacified. Alice turned around and smiled at me. It was strained a little bit, but it was a smile, and it was genuine. "I'm trusting that you won't hurt her." By the look on her face, I knew that Alice was probably the greater force to be reckoned with. She would make Jasper look tame, and that in itself was scary enough.

I sobered up immediately. "Never. She's my life too, now." As soon as I said them, I could feel them resonating into my skin. Seraphina Marie was my life now, and surprisingly, I was completely okay with that.

She seemed pleased by my answer.

"Can I?" I pleaded, meeting Jasper's eyes and motioning towards my imprint.

He grimaced, but looked at his wife, and then turned around to look at his daughter. Seraphina was now wailing for me, and Rosalie and Nessie were wincing, the sound slicing their eardrums. It was heartbreaking, and my muscles started to quiver with the pain of staying stationary while my imprint was unhappy. My eyes became hopelessly begging.

He took one more look at me, quivering and helpless, and shook his head. "Fine," he grunted, and stomped out of the room, muttering to himself.

I wasted no time. I crossed to room in three strides and stooped to pick up Seraphina from Rose's arms, giving her a sheepish smile while doing so. She just rolled her golden eyes.

Seraphina's wails instantly quieted, and she looked up at me with a grin on her face. I touched the little dimple on her porcelain cheek.

So fast I didn't have time to react, she whipped her head around and bit down on my index finger hungrily.

"Ow!" I yelped, and yanked my finger back. A pout instantly formed on her face. I hestitated for only a second when I sighed, and put my finger back in her mouth. A chorus of laughter sprang up from my vampire friends.

"Can we get her something to eat?" I grumbled, my finger throbbing painfully. I winced as she sucked harder.

Edward shot the room and emerged ten seconds later with a bottle of blood. "Sorry about that." The grin on his face said he most definitely was _not _sorry. He winked at me before handing me the bottle.

I chuckled, and pulled my finger out of her mouth. It was swollen and red. Before her face could slip back into a pout which would send me over the edge, I put the bottle in between her lips. She sucked hungrily, and her eyes met mine.

It was a bit unsettling just how intelligent her eyes were. They memorized every detail on my face with inquisitive judgement. Tenatively, she reached out to put a hand on my face. I halfway expected her to have the same gift as Nessie, but she didn't. She put her hand on my face to feel my skin, nothing more.

"That's precious," Bella said, holding hands with Edward and Nessie. Nessie had her arm around Jacob, who was looking down at her with eyes full of love and devotion.

I briefly wondered if I'd be doing the same thing in six years. Then again, by the way Jasper snapped his teeth at me, I didn't think there would be any friendly feeling towards me for awhile.

Edward chuckled. "Jasper likes you, that's the problem. He feels like he should automatically hate you, but he doesn't. He's pissed."

I smiled and shook my head at his logic. I looked down at my imprint again just to stare at her, like it was essential to my survival. It was, I realized.

I had never seen something so perfect.

She was the most adorable baby I ever saw. She had dark, wavy hair that fell to her shoulders already. Her creamy white skin had a slight flush, but it wasn't pronounced as Nessie's fiery looks. Her eyes were the most unusual shade of blue I had ever seen. Her blue was so dark that unless you were really looking, you'd think they were black. Her little white dress barely hung onto her frame, since she was smaller than Nessie had been at birth. Seraphina's hand left my cheek and went to rest on my heart. A small smile formed on her face. I smiled back at her.

"I love you too, kiddo."

I kissed her hair, and as I held her tightly to me as she drifted off to sleep. Nessie came over to sit next to me.

"I'm happy for you, Seth," she said, and kissed my cheek. I smiled at her.

"Thanks, Ness."

She looked down at her cousin.

"She's pretty," she commented, and ran her fingers through her locks.

"I agree. She's definitely a cute kid," I commented, feeling a swell of pride for my sleeping imprint.

"Say cheese!" Bella said, emerging with a top-of-the-line camera. I barely had a chance to look up and smile before she clicked off the camera. Edward stood next to his wife, rolling his eyes.

Alice came back into the living room. Her face was strained a little bit, but she was smiling. Renesmee stood up to make room for her aunt to sit down next to me.

"I've barely had a chance to call her my daughter," Alice said. She gave me a small, sad smile.

I wrapped my free arm around her. "Alice, thank you for sticking up for me. That means a lot. I know you don't necessarily like the idea of me imprinting on her, but I just want you to know that she is everything to me now. I promise to love her properly, in the way someone as special as her deserves to be loved for the rest of her long life, and now, my long life too."

She nodded under my arm. "I wasn't lying when I said I love you, Seth. I've always considered you a part of this family, just as much as Jacob or anyone else. You've saved us repeatedly, and you have always treated us like people instead of predators. And now...you've imprinted on my daughter. My barely a-day-old daughter."

"Well, I guess I can only hope to change your mind eventually." If it had to be done, I would do it.

Alice trilled a laugh. "Seth, you don't have to change my mind about anything. In a way, this is a blessing. Now my daughter will grow up with someone she can always count on. It's just a bittersweet day, that's all. I went from watching something horrible to seeing goodness come out of it. And then I saw that certain goodness find her soulmate at a day old. Today's hardly a normal day."

"Something definitely good came out of it, and I agree, this is by far not a normal day," I told her, smiling.

She smiled back, and got up to go dig out some more baby clothes, I was presuming.

Esme walked into the room. "May I hold my granddaughter for a little bit? I haven't had much of a chance," she said with a sweet smile. I automatically handed her Seraphina.

I stood up and stretched my muscles, and gave Seraphina one last, long look. Jacob eyed me from the foyer, and waved me forward. "Phase with me?" he asked.

I consented, and we ran out into the woods to phase. I felt my muscles shimmer and expand and change as I dropped to the forest floor on four paws.

_How you holdin' up, man? _Jacob asked.

_Today's been...interesting, _I chuckled.

_If by interesting you mean life-changing, most definitely, _he mused.

We were silent for a few minutes, and we both shot off into seperate directions to complete a wide arc for patrolling.

_So when were you planning on telling everyone about your half-human, half-vampire imprint? _he asked.

_When were you planning on telling everyone a mother got ripped to shreds by a baby in a forest with a vampire watching? _I asked back. I tried not to think about my little angel being the one to do that.

He chuckled. _Touche._

I mulled it over for a few minutes. _Well, the Elders won't have an issue. The guys will be happy for me at least, but I'm kinda worried about Leah..._

He winced. _Yeah, but don't let her get to you. Technically, for all intents and pruposes I'm still her Alpha, so if she gives you too much grief, I'll tell her to put a muzzle on it._

_I think she'll be fairly okay. She might take a few swipes at me, knock down a couple of trees, be mad for a couple of days, but I think she'll be all right, eventually._

_Leah usually is. She's strong. She'll get over it, _Jake thought, thinking of all the times Leah has saved our asses. The Volturi visit, Jake was having a panic attack the entire time, thinking about Nessie's safety. She's the one that got all of our heads in the game. She basically became the Alpha.

_I wouldn't have used the term 'panic attack,' _Jacob thought, chuckling.

_Are you kidding? I've never seen a guy worry so much in my entire life. I think that's why Ness's such a worrier. You rubbed off on her, _I teased.

Jacob rolled his eyes.

We had finished our arc, and we arrived back at our clothes. We phased and changed quickly before heading back to the Cullen manor.

Just as we were about to walk up the steps, Jasper opened the door and walked outside. I felt myself involuntarily gulp.

"Seth, I want you to know that I'm not angry anymore." Jasper's tone was even. I wasn't sure if this was a good or bad sign.

"Edward and Nessie talked me out of my...funk. But just promise me something." He met my eyes unwaveringly. I met his, but I probably looked a lot more nervous. My palms started getting slick. C'mon Seth, hold it together!

"Don't get yourself all worked up," Jasper said, smiling lightly, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "I'm not going to attack you. I just don't want to see my little girl get hurt. I'm relying on their words and Jacob and Nessie's experience that you aren't going to hurt her."

Just the thought of hurting her made me feel sick. "I wouldn't ever. Call it self-preserving, but she's my life now...if she hurts, I hurt equally as bad."

He nodded, his eyes tight. "I'm trusting you, Seth."

I nodded at him, and he walked past us, and shot off into the trees without a backward glance.

I was frozen until Jacob slapped my back. "You lucky son-of-a-bitch. You get people sticking up for you left and right, and all I got was a newborn vampire mother try to kill me."

I rolled my eyes. "If you don't recall, he _did _try to kill me."

"At least they stopped him," he grumbled.

I laughed, and we entered the house. For the first time since becoming a wolf, I felt whole as I walked back to my soul. For as long as I lived, I knew this is how it would always be.


	4. Packs, Imprints, and Being Different

_A/N: Thanks for the reveiws, guys! This chapter is much longer than the other chapters. I hope you enjoy! :)_

_P.S. Did anyone else see Breaking Dawn P1 and LOVE IT? 'Cause I did. :)_

_And Seraphina and I have the same birthday. So yes, at the date of me uploading this, my birthday was yesterday. (;_

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><p><strong>Seth POV<strong>

I was pulling on my button down shirt that Alice had given me for this day with a broad smile on my face.

My imprint, a month old today. I shook my head in disbelief. November 19th was her birthday, and her one month had fallen just six days before Christmas.

November 19th was the day my life changed forever. She decided to grace the world on that day, and so I treated it as it was holy.

Sera (my new nickname for her stuck) was an intelligent, outgoing kid, much like her mother. She learned how to speak after just a week, and walking came shortly afterwards. I had teared up like a proud mother hen when I heard that her first sentence was, "I want Seth."

Jasper hadn't been necessarily happy about that.

Jasper was civil towards me, but Edward assured that it would take a bit more time before he was completely comfortable around me again. He was still getting used to the fact that she needed me just as much as she needed her parents and her family.

Just as everyone predicted, Sera was a tiny thing. The only person they could go off developmentally was Nessie, and Carlisle measured her to be almost an entire three inches shorter than Nessie was at this age. Nessie was slender and graceful, but as it turned out, curvy. Sera had a ballerina's build, small and light and dainty, but she was strong and sure whenever she walked. It was hard to believe that Alice didn't give birth to her.

Sera's hair fell just above her waist now, and it was thick and wild at times, but soft. Sometimes, her Aunt Rosalie and mother would tie her hair up in ribbons and put her in an endless assortment of designer clothes, but she seemed to gain her Aunt Bella's interest in shopping and hair and make-up, much to her mother's extreme dismay. We all thought it was hilarious that Alice's daughter, so much like her already, didn't take after the one thing that Alice loved most- shopping sprees. In fact, Sera had little patience for them and would constantly make me play hide-and-seek with her to hide from her insane mother.

There was one thing that Sera loved- music. Edward and Rosalie indulged her every musical whim. I was quickly on my way to learning how to play to just by watching her so much. The guitar was too big for her, so Edward was quickly training his soon-to-be prodigy on the piano. She retained everything with vampire perfection, and could already play a few classical pieces.

At a month old, she looked more like she was two, although she was smarter than most adults already. She was a force to be reckoned with.

Her most amazing feature was her eyes. They were dark blue, deep, and very expressionable. You could always tell what mood she was in by her eyes, because they always gave her away. One time, her mother had forced her into a fashion show that lasted almost three hours. She tried to hide her annoyance, but her eyes immediately gave her away.

_My little girl danced her way over to the basketball court in the back of the Cullen house. It was three on three, Jacob and Embry and I versus Emmett and Jasper and Edward, when I saw her make her way over to me. It didn't escape my notice that she let out a little huff of annoyance as she walked over, but when she looked up, she had a smile on her face that didn't reach her eyes._

"_Hi, Seth. Can I watch you play?" she asked, sitting on the ground._

"_Of course you can, kiddo." I took one look at her face and then sat down next to her. I waited a few seconds before I asked her, "So, are you going to tell me what's wrong?"_

_Her eyes widened a little bit. "How did you know?"_

_I smiled. "I know you better than anyone, Sera." I said, and I wrapped my arm around her. She blew out a little huff that I secretly thought was adorable._

"_Mommy won't stop dressing me up," she said sadly._

"_Well, your mom does like to shop. And dress people," I said thoughtfully._

"_But she _always _does. I just want to play outside or learn piano from Uncle Edward." Her little shoulders slumped a bit as she stared disdainfully at her designer kicks._

_I planted a kiss in her hair. "Would it make you feel better if I said Alice dressed me too?"_

_She looked at me with suprise in her eyes. "She does?"_

"_Yep. All my clothes come from her. And I've lived thorugh a couple of fashion shows myself," I confided._

"_Do you like fashion shows?" Sera asked innocently._

_All the guys playing chuckled, and I just shook my head at them. "I don't, which is why I totally understand."_

"_How do you get her to stop dressing you up?" she asked with big eyes. She looked at me like I held the secret of the universe._

_Well, sorry to disappoint. "You don't. Hate to break it to you kid, but your mother is a force of nature at its strongest." _

_She let out a little "hmph," and looked away. It startled me that even though her annoyance was childish, she looked very adult-like. For a brief second, I got a glimpse of what I would be dealing with when she was older. _

_Wait, what was I doing? Seraphina was a one month old child. Hopefully that "phase" will come sooner, rather than later. Looking at her now, I saw that she clicked her heels together in front of her and rested her head in her hands. The sight of how disgruntled she look gave me a little pang of protective instinct, but it mostly just made me laugh._

_I tried to stiffle my smile when she turned and gave me a glare. Sera turned in her spot so the good portion of her back was facing me. Oh, silent game, huh? I was too freaking irresistable for that! I poked her tickle spot on her lower ribs, the spot only a select few knew about. The effect was instantaneous- her back arched and she let out a peal of giggles. I threw my arms around her. "Well, I think the only person in this house that can compare to Alice's obsession is Rosalie. Everyone else just deals with it. Because we know at the end of the day that it's just Alice being Alice, and we love her anyways. You're not the only one, kiddo." I gave her a smile and kissed her on the cheek. _

_She turned and looked at me. "So I should just let her?"_

"_Well, maybe you can ask her to tone down the dress rehersals to one hour a day at the most. I think that's a fair compromise."_

_She nodded and looked down at her outfit. She was dressed in a light blue sweater and designer jeans. Her unruly hair was pinned away from her face._

"_I don't know if it helps, but for the record, I like your outfit," I told her._

_She grinned at me with the full set of brilliantly white milk teeth she was born with. "You do?"_

_I winked at her, which sent her into another peal of giggles, on top of poking her tickle spot again."I do. I'll give your mom that much- she knows how to dress people." _

_And from that day on Seraphina Marie never complained about the outfit she was wearing ever again. I also learned an important lesson that day- everything Sera feels is shown in her eyes. This lesson would come in handy one day._

I learned that Sera also used her eyes to get what she wanted. She had every single person in the house wrapped around all ten of her fingers, especially her father, mother, and I. Of course I did whatever she wanted. I mean, it wasn't like I realized dignity was useless when an imprint asks something especially embarrassing of you, like barking at a kid on the swingset when he won't get off for a turn. Yep, Sera actually did that. This kid had been on the swings for 10 straight minutes, which to a kid waiting for her turn is a serious issue. She commanded me to bark at him and scare him off. With Embry and Jake watching. I had a particularly hard time phasing with them after that when they called me Fido every time they addressed me.

Jasper literally became weak at the knees everytime she asked for something he said no to. She asked for chocolate and blood before bed once, and he said no. He was actually proud of himself for being able to say no to her when Sera's lip started trembling. I, of course, seeing her face, immediately ran over and comforted her, trying to fight off my ever growing urge to hunt down a damn bag of blood and a Hershey's chocolate bar. She looked at her dad and pleaded silently with her eyes to let her. Two minutes later, she was contentedly munching on a chocolate bar and sipping a hospital bag of blood. Alice laughed at him for the rest of the night, while Emmett made fun of him for being a push-over.

She was already a fairly good hunter. There wasn't any promises of her getting blood on her clothes or not yet, but she took down her prey quickly and effectively. She had the grace of her mother and the efficiency of her father. It was a good combination.

Her power was incredibly accurate. Edward said that pretty much all her dreams were precognitive, which I felt bad for. The kid would never have a normal dream! But although her foresight was limited to certain hours of the day, her visions were more accurate than even Alice's. Unlike Alice, she could get the general idea for motives and reasons, which made their changing actions easier to predict. She could get into shields, much like her cousin, so Bella was no match for Sera guessing her motives as well. It astounded everyone.

My little girl was too amazing for words. She was so special, and so many people loved her. She was just easy to love.

I walked out into the living room and discovered Embry was waiting for me. We were carpooling to the Cullen's.

"Man, you have a smile ear to ear on your face."

I laughed. "Sorry, I'm having a proud imprint moment."

He rolled his eyes. "Let's get going, Mom."

* * *

><p>We were having a mini-party at the Cullen's. Just a few presents, not that many decorations, according to Alice. But knowing Alice, as small as she was, she never did anything on a "mini" scale.<p>

When we pulled up, we saw there was a huge banner on the front of the house, artfully decorated to read "Happy One-Month, Seraphina!" Embry rolled his eyes at that one.

The inside of the house was fairly toned down compared to the banner out front. There was a small cake and four or five presents, nothing Alice-scale. I was shocked. It was perfect.

"Seth!" Sera greeted enthusiastically from behind me. I turned around, and couldn't help myself from letting out an "awwww." She was in a bright red dress with tons of ruffles on the skirt. Her hair, usually unruly, was in pigtails, and curled and neat.

"Hey kiddo! Like the dress!" I told her, and bent down to pick her up. I felt myself become content again as I spun her around in my arms. She giggled and screamed when I tossed her in the air and caught her again.

"So how does it feel to be a month old?" I asked her.

She pursed her lips for a moment. "I grow really fast anyways. So...different."

I chuckled and kissed her cheek.

The cake had a single candle in it, which she blew out. Alice and Jasper gave her a stack of new books. Emmett bought her an airsoft gun (I glared at him for that one). Rosalie gave her a necklace. Edward gave her new music and a composition book where she could write her own music in as well. Bella, Jacob, Nessie, and Embry got her an iPod. I got her a sketchbook and all of the books that taught you how to draw realistically that I could find. I was saving my big gift for Christmas. Of all her presents, she seemed to like mine the most.

While Embry was showing her how to use her iPod and everyone else had dispursed, my mom called.

"Hey Son, how are you?" she greeted.

"I'm good. I'm at the Cullen's right now. Alice threw Seraphina a one-month birthday mini-celebration, so we're doing that right now."

"Six days before Christmas?" she asked a little ruefully.

"It's Alice. The Christmas decorations are all up and everything, but she just decided she wanted to throw a party for her daughter."

"Six days before Christmas," she repeated, as a statement.

"Yep." I popped my lips on the P.

I could envision my mom shaking her head on the other line. "I see. Well, anyways. I wanted to know when I get to meet little Seraphina."

I glanced at Alice and Jasper. Sera was sitting on Jasper's lap, and she was having a deep conversation with her family about new technology, or as Edward put it, "technological advances of the 21st century." I shook my head and looked away. She was too smart for her own good sometimes.

"I'm not sure." I chewed on my lip. Lots of things could go wrong flying. The pilot Sully from the Hudson river landing? From what I gathered, that was pretty rare no one got hurt.

"Well, what about the weekend after Christmas? You can bring her down to La Push and everyone can meet her."

"Um...I'm not sure," I repeated, realizing that I didn't have enough cahones to say "no" to my mother. I decided to change the subject. "...How's Leah?" I asked with an edge of suspicion.

She sighed. "She's over it."

I told my sister last week I imprinted. She naturally freaked out and has not talked to me since. Actually, what she said was, "Damn pack has become a fucking daycare center." She ranted on and on about how it was unfair that the one person who _should _imprint hasn't, and the resoundedly hung up on me.

My face slipped into a pout. "Why hasn't she talked to me? I'm pretty sure she called me a pedophile. She should apologize for _that _one."

My mom sighed again. "Leah is Leah. She's over it, but she still has her pride."

She basically described Leah in a nutshell.

Knowing that this would lead to another question, I decided to give a tentative answer. "Okay, well. Let me ask Seraphina's parents."

I heard her squeal of delight on the other end, and I had to hold the phone away from my ear. "I'll tell the Elders too if you figure out if you're coming or not." By the sound of her voice, she wasn't giving me an option. I was going, even if it meant she send the other guys in the pack to drag Sera and my own furry butt out to La Push.

I was about to respond when I heard something smash behind me. Emmett and Edward were having a heated arguement concerning the better team- the White Sox or the Rangers. How they got from a dignified discussion about technology to a rowdy throwdown about sports, I wouldn't ever know.

"Um, I gotta go, Mom," I said worriedly, eyeing Sera's close proximity to the events unfolding between her tempermental uncles.

"Uh oh, I'll talk to you later. Bye," and she hung up the phone.

Two hours and fourteen smashed trees later, Emmett and Edward finally came to a truce.

Later, I was lounging on the couch with Jacob and Nessie after Embry had to leave. He said something about a "hot date," and then beelined out the door. I was watching Sera draw on her new sketchbook. I tried to stiffle my laughter as I saw her stick out her tongue several times in intense concentration. She looked like a cartoon character. Jacob and Nessie, well...they were practically having sex with their clothes on the couch right next to me. I tried to ignore them as best I could. Edward and Bella had to leave before they actually did the deed.

Knowing Sera was finished with her drawing and was going to look up soon, I threw a pillow at Jacob's head to make them cool down. He looked up with an angry expression.

"What the hell," he growled.

I pointed to Sera, and as if on cue, she looked up and handed me her drawing. I studied it closely, pretending to be an critical of her drawing.

She chewed on her lip nervously. Antother inherited habit. "Did I do it right?"

"Hmmm..." I started. Actually, I was thoroughly impressed. She had drawn me, holding her. I was amazed by the amount of detail she was able to get in both her and I.

"Sera, this is amazing," I said, grinning and giving it back to her.

She looked visibly relaxed after I said that, and settled on a contented grin. She took up her place on my lap and told me the details of her drawing. "See?" Her small finger touched a part of her drawing. "I drew you with a shirt on because your shirts always smell like you. And mommy doesn't let you walk around without a shirt. And then my hair is pulled back because when I run, it gets really tangled. And then you're holding me because you're my best friend."

She looked at me expectantly. I laughed and hugged her to me. "You're my best friend too. And it really is amazing."

She nodded, and looked over at Ness and Jake, who looked mussed and guilty.

"Why were you guys wrestling on the couch?" she asked in a confused and little kid voice.

It was times like these that reminded me no matter how smart she was, she was still a little kid. I burst out into laughter as Nessie turned beet red and stalked out of the room while Jacob grinned, unphased that his extremely smart one-month-old future cousin-in-law saw them practically have sex.

"Seth, what were they doing?" Sera asked, looking at me.

I blanched at the same time Jake burst into laughter.

"Um...uh-" I stuttered.

"Finish that sentence and I'll kill you," Alice said from a sing-song voice in the kitchen. I was eternally grateful.

"Sorry, kiddo. Too young for that one," I told her, messing her hair.

"Hmph," she replied indignantly, and stalked away in the same direction as her cousin. I felt a pang of desire to go run after her and grovel.

"Nice one," Emmett greeted, walking into the room. I had to hold in my groan.

Emmett plopped onto the couch next to Jacob. He was wearing a shit-eating grin if I ever did see one. Jacob automatically shifted uncomfortably. He knew Emmett was going to start cracking jokes.

"So, pup," Emmett said, grinning at Jake, "Go doggy-style lately?"

And with that, Jacob shot up and promptly walked out of the room. Emmett cackled after him.

He moved his eyes towards me, and I felt my own smile disappate. "Sethy! How's daycare holding up for you?"

I rolled my eyes. "Fine, Emmett."

"How do you do it?" Emmett asked.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Go that long without nailing something. I mean, I understand that your imprint is a baby-"

Without another word, I got up and walked out of the room as well. Emmett called after me, "You guys are no fun!"

I spotted Alice in the kitchen, talking with Bella. When she turned around and saw me, her face lit up. "Seth! I heard you on the phone-"

"Yeah, that was my mother. She wants me to go bring Seraphina down to La Push to meet everyone."

Alice's lips pursed. "Hmmm, are you sure that's a good idea? It's bad enough I can barely see my own daughter's future, and she's never been away from home before..."

I did my best puppy-dog face. "Aw, c'mon, Alice! Please? The outside world will do her good. The pack is now just as much her family as you guys are."

She appraised me, face and all, for a few seconds. Finally, she blew out a little huff. "Fine. But I want a call everyday-"

She didn't finish her sentence because I picked her up and swung her around. She started to giggle. "Thank you, Alice!"

She laughed as I put her down, grinning ear to ear. She playfully smacked my arm.

"Can I pack for you?" She gave me her best doe-eyes.

I had to hold back a groan. "But Alice, I don't need a new outfit three times a day. The plane only has so much room."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. But no promises about Sera."

I laughed. "Sera doesn't need a million outfits either. Just a week in La Push. Seven outfits and bedtime clothes should be fine, right?"

She actually gasped. "That's ridiculous! What about if you go out to dinner or something?"

"She's a little kid. Besides, La Push doesn't exactly have the works when it comes to fine dining. We're probably gonna be eating at Sam and Emily's anyways."

Her eyes narrowed. "You never know. She'll obviously need shoes for every outfit..." She got lost in thought as she planned out her daughter's wardrobe.

"Why can't she just have one pair of shoes?" I asked, obviously stupidly, because Alice looked at me like I had just killed someone.

"What? _One _pair of shoes? Are you mental?" She clutched her heart in horror. Bella decided to nervously step in.

"You know, Seth's right, Alice..." Bella immediately cowered when she saw Alice's glare.

"There is no way my daughter is going to be packed _one _pair of shoes."

"Why not, Mommy?" Sera asked as she gracefully walked the floor to where I was standing. She immediately jumped up into my arms, and I caught her.

I looked at Sera, meanwhile Alice and Bella started bickering silently about whether or not five pairs of shoes was acceptable. "Sera, would you like to go with me to La Push?"

Her answering grin was blinding. "Yeah, Seth! When?"

"After Christmas, sometime. You can meet my family. My mom wants to meet you really bad." I kissed her cheek and ruffled her hair a little bit.

Her lips pursed. "But I grow so fast. What if they don't like me because I'm different?" Her eyes widened in alarm, and my heart panged painfully.

"Listen to me, Seraphina Marie Cullen-Whitlock. You are perfect. They are going to do nothing but love you. You're different because you're special, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that." The look on my face was so fierce and dedicated that she immediately sighed and nodded her head.

"Okay," she muttered.

Alice and Bella decided that three pairs of shoes were acceptable. Tennis shoes, boots, and hiking shoes were going to be the shoes on the trip. And as for the clothes, it was agreed upon that nine outfits would be brought, two just in case something happened and she needed a change. After this was agreed upon, Alice immediately flitted upstairs to the office to arrange our flight for the day after Christmas. I called my mom to tell her the news, and she was still gushing about meeting my imprint for the first time when I hung up the phone.

* * *

><p>Seraphina's first Christmas was a huge deal. Everyone came over. Embry, Jake, Nessie, and I all packed into the Cullen's living room as everyone opened up their presents.<p>

Seraphina got the most presents because she was the youngest and therefore most spoiled, and true to Cullen style, she got a lot. I lost track after she opened up her thirty-second present. But Sera was spoiled, not spoiled rotten, and never let opening presents bore her, and she never got complacent. Every single time she opened up a present, she gushed about how amazing it was. Her gratefulness was just part of her normal personality. She never took anything for granted.

She absolutely loved my present. I made her a Quileute promise bracelet, and carved her a sandy-colored wolf pendant for a necklace. Tears filled her eyes and she wrapped her arms around me fiercely, telling me that she absolutely loved it. She put them on, and she never took them off.

After unwrapping, a neat stack of presents rested next to her, and her father and Uncle Emmett were helping her with her new weaponry to transform her into the official Cullen family prankster. I looked up, and saw that the couples were all getting mushy. Esme had strung up mistletoe and Edward and Bella were currently making out under it. Emmett had disbanded from Jasper and was cuddling with Rosalie on the couch, watching _It's a Wonderful Life. _Carlisle and Esme were sitting by the fire, curled next to each other. Nessie and Jake had already left, and by the way they were looking at each other earlier, I knew they were not going to make it another second as polite company. Alice was staring at Jasper playing contentedly with his daughter with love-filled eyes, and a couple of times her turned around to meet Alice's gaze with his own strong eyes of love as well.

I felt oddly out of place. All I wanted was to watch a Christmas movie with my imprint and tuck her into bed.

Sera's eyes blinked tiredly, and she let herself yawn. I smiled and my heart expanded. Jasper kissed her on the top of her head, and he grabbed Alice's hand and led her upstairs.

"You'll see that she gets to bed?" Jasper asked me as he walked by.

"Of course," I told him, "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas to you, Seth." And with that, he walked away. Alice blew me a kiss and followed him.

I walked over and picked her up. She immediately slumped in my arms. "Are you tired, baby girl?"

She nodded, and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. The sight was so cute that I couldn't held but chuckle and kiss her cheek. "Well, I think that we should watch a movie and you can watch until you fall asleep. Deal?"

She smiled, and her eyes blinked lazily again. In the direction she was going, she would barely make it past the credits. Rosalie and Emmett already cleared out, and Bella and Edward went back to the seperate house. Carlisle and Esme were in the kitchen, and it sounded like they were making out. I flipped it onto a Disney Channel Christmas movie, and Sera contentedly snuggled into my arms.

Like clockwork, the credits weren't even over yet when she was snoring softly in my arms. Unfortunately, I didn't make it long either. We ended her first Christmas like that, me holding her on that couch, with the feeling of love and happiness in the air from her family, falling asleep.

* * *

><p>The next morning, I woke up to Rosalie lightly shaking me awake. My eyes flew open in a panic when I realized that Sera wasn't in my arms anymore.<p>

"Don't freak out, Seth," she said, rolling her eyes, "Alice is bathing her. You guys have a flight to catch."

I groaned, and rolled so I was in a sitting position. I glanced over at the clock, and it read that it was 7:30 in the morning. I groaned again, and Rosalie snickered at me.

The morning flew by in a blur. Esme made Sera and I pancakes. I went upstairs and was in and out of the shower in no time, and I changed into the clothes Alice had set out. They were comfy for travel, but I could still show up respectable to my family's house. Sera was dressed the same way, except Alice gave me strict orders to change her into the dark blue dress she packed in our carry-on before we landed.

Little did we know that Alice had also bought Nessie, Jacob, and Embry flight tickets as well to see our families. They showed up at eight in the morning, all packed and ready to fly. We piled into Emmett's SUV, Seraphina still sleepy, and Alice and Japser drove us to the airport.

When we got out, Alice immediately attacked her daughter with kisses, and Sera hugged her tightly. Jasper bent down to kiss the top of her head. Alice made me promise again and again that we would come home straight away if anything happened, and Jasper threatened that if his little angel got hurt, he would make sure I would never be able to run again. With that note, we boarded first class on the plane and was on our way to La Push.

Seraphina was hilarious. She was mesmerized by the workings of the plane. She brought a book with her on plane aerodynamics and was constantly looking out the window over and over again, comparing what she read to what she saw. I had to eventually pull the curtain around us because an elderly couple was giving her looks of amazement and disbelief.

We landed in Seattle, and we unboarded the plane. Seraphina was jammering on and on about plane aerodynamics with Nessie, but I had to remind her that it wasn't normal for a girl who looked two-and-a-half years old to be talking about aerodynamics like a professor. She grumbled, and I just reminded her that she could talk all about plane workings in the car.

Embry went to the front desk and picked up our car rental. We loaded up, and thankfully with Nessie's vampire regard for the speed limit, we arrived in La Push in three hours.

My mother immediately ran out of Charlie Swan's house when we pulled up to their house in Forks. She recently got married to him. "Seth! I've missed you so much!" She threw her arms around my neck, and I had to bend down considerably.

"Missed you too, Mom," I said, and pulled back. I glanced down at Sera, who was clinging to my leg. I picked her up. "Mom, this is Seraphina, Sera for short, and Sera, this is my mom. You can call her Sue."

Sera smiled brightly at my mother, and gave her a little wave. "Hi, Sue."

I looked at my mother, and I knew she immediately fell in love. "Hi, Sera! We hope to see you around here more often. You are the most adorable thing I ever saw." Mom leaned over to hug her and kiss her cheek.

Sera stiffened ever so slightly when the smell hit her, but she had been raised from the time she was born that people were strictly off limits. She recovered before my mom could suspect anything was wrong. I guessed I would have to take her hunting soon.

My mom ushered us inside, where Embry, Jake, and Nessie were already talking with Charlie. Charlie knew about vampires now, thanks to Sue, but he pretended he didn't know what they were talking about. Considering, he knew full well what Nessie was and why she used to grow so fast. And why she was already planning on marrying Jacob at six years old.

He also knew about imprinting. So when Sera ran over with Nessie to go hang out with Sue in the kitchen, she bent over to mutter, "Is that my future step-daughter-in-law?"

Even though I couln't ever imagine seeing Sera like that, I answered honestly. "Probably."

The phone rang just then. Charlie walked over to answer it. "Swan residence," he greeted.

"Hey Charlie!" a gruff voice said into the phone.

Charlie smiled. "Hey Sam, what can I do for you?"

"I heard a rumor that Jake, Nessie, Embry, Seth, and his imprint are in town. Are they over there?" he asked.

"Yeah, they're here," he responded.

Emily came onto the phone then. "Well, stop monopolizing them! Come on over Charlie, and bring Sue and everyone else. I miss them something fierce," she said sweetly into the phone.

Charlie said, "Yes ma'am," and hung up the phone. He called into the kitchen. "Sue, Emily wants us to come over. I recommend us going, because we can't keep a pregnant woman waiting." Charlie chuckled.

"Wait, Emily's pregnant?" I asked, shock flooding through me.

He cocked an eyebrow. "Emily's eight months pregnant, Seth."

My mouth dropped. Where have I been these past months?

"Well, holy crap. We better get going then," I told them.

When we showed up, we were immediately hounded by the entire pack. They all took turns hugging us, telling us to stop being such strangers. Leah was no where in sight. I felt sad at that, but I was immediately floored when Emily walked out, the size of a mountain.

I felt like the biggest piece of shit ever when Emily walked outside. I realized how much I had been neglecting La Push. "Holy dear, Emily! You look amazing, as always. And very pregnant," I told her, giving my second mother a huge hug. She kissed my cheek.

"Thanks, Seth." She pulled back and spotted Sera, who was busy meeting everyone in the back. As far as I could tell, everyone was mesmerized by her. She was very outgoing, and cute. She had sixteen tough ass wolves sitting around her in awe. I chuckled.

"Hi, Sera, I'm Emily," Emily said, approaching Sera.

I had warned Sera about Emily's scars, but Sera didn't even look at her face. Her eyes were locked on the baby bump.

"Hi, Emily," she said, staring extremely intently at her stomach. Emily and I simutaneously cocked an eyebrow.

"What's up, Sera?" I asked her with concern, picking her up. Her eyes still never left Emily's stomach.

"I had a dream last night," she started. I nodded for her to continue, but I could feel confusion from the other wolves. I sighed and informed them.

"You know how some vamps are gifted?" I asked them. They all nodded. "Sera is too. She can see the future through her dreams. The difference between her and Alice is that Sera can only have visions during certain hours of the day, but her visions are more accurate and she can see motives behind the actions, which makes their changing minds more predictable."

Everyone blinked at me in shock. "You'll get used to it," I added.

And yet Sera was still staring at the bump.

"Is my baby going to be okay?" Emily asked worriedly, and Sam immediately raced over to consol her.

"Your baby is going to be fine," Sera immediately responded, looking up for the first time at Emily's face.

"Did you see something in his future?" she asked.

"His," she repeated, and her eyebrows furrowed for a minute. "He's going to be fine. I just had a dream about his birth. Um, Emily," Sera said with a little worry, "I think...I think you're going to give birth today."

"You think?" Emily's eyes shot up to her forehead, and Sam raced inside.

She nodded. "I know," she responded.

And with that, everyone began to chatter excitedly about the new baby. Emily and Sam had two kids so far, Aria and Mason, and plans immediately began for where they would go tonight. It was decided that they would stay at Sue and Charlie's since everyone would be at the hospital for Emily. As if on cue, Emily's water broke.

"Sam!" she called excitedly, and Sam raced downstairs with two overnight bags- one for the hospital, and one for Aria and Mason. When he saw Emily standing in a puddle of water, he immediately shoved the bags into Jacob's arms while he picked Emily up bridal style and carried her to the car.

"Kim and I can drive you," Jared said, and walked over to his truck. Kim immediately hopped into the passenger seat, and without further ado, they left.

"Holy crap," Paul said, looking at Seraphina with amazed eyes.

Sera smiled brightly, but I could tell something was clouding it. When everyone excitedly hopped into cars and drove for the hospital, I pulled Sera aside. "What's wrong?"

Sera leaned in to me to whisper. "I keep seeing someone important in his future."

"Good kind of important or bad kind?" I asked.

"Good kind."

I nodded. "Well, that's okay then, right?"

She nodded thoughtfully. "Very okay."

I raised my eyebrow at her cryptic response, but didn't comment further. I picked her up and strapped her into the passenger seat (yeah, I know, driving with a two-year-old girl in the front seat without a carseat isn't smart at all, but I figured if I drived safe enough and because Sera's skin is as hard as a vampire's, we'd be okay), and we drove to Forks hospital.

When we arrived, we saw everyone talking animatedly to each other. They saw us coming and they immediately waved us over.

"That was amazing, Sera," Brady said, smiling at her.

"Yeah, how did you know?" Jared asked.

"I see things in my dreams," she told them.

"Do you get to decide what you see?" Collin asked.

She shook her head. "It's whatever is important."

"That's really cool," Brady broke out into a grin.

Sam came outside then with a huge smile of his face. "Emily gave birth to a healthy baby boy."

Wow, that was a quick birth. Cheers sounded throughout the waiting room. Everyone embraced each other, and gave Sam our congrats. Sera was vivid with all of the excitement. Someone must have called Leah, because she came bustling in with an expression I couldn't place.

"Is Emily okay?" Leah asked.

"She's fine. She gave birth to a boy," Sam said, grinning.

"Congrats, padre. Can I see Em?" she asked suddenly.

He raised his eyebrows. Leah has never been excited to see Emily before in her life, after Sam. "Yeah, come on in." He motioned for everyone to follow him into the room.

While walking to the delivery room, I couldn't help but notice Sera staring intently at Leah. I nudged her, and when she looked at me, I cocked my eyebrow. She whispered in my ear, "It's gonna happen."

"What is?" I whispered back.

We turned the corner, and we walked into the delivery room. I saw Emily holding the fragile thing in her arms, nursing him. She was glowing with happiness, and everyone had a grin on their face.

I glanced down at Sera again, and saw her staring like even more of a creeper at Leah. I followed her gaze, and saw on Leah's face what everyone had missed.

Leah imprinted.

On Lucas Samuel Uley.

"Um..." I started nervously, waiting for the shit to hit the fan.

And it did.

The wolves simultaneously whipped their heads around to look at me, and then followed my stare to Leah. Leah looked exactly like an imprinted wolf. She was staring at the baby boy in Emily's arms with her mouth slightly open, looking like she just saw the sun for the first time.

And Lucas was staring right back at her.

"Fuck," Paul muttered, and Rachel slapped his arm in reproach.

Sam looked up from his contented bubble of happiness to see that Leah was staring at his son in amazement. He shot up suddenly with an unreadable expression.

"Leah, outside," Sam ordered, and walked to the door. Leah seemed to be glued ot the spot, staring at Lucas with a mesmerized expression. He finally grabbed her arm and forcibly dragged her outside when she made no gesture indicating she would follow.

Emily looked down at her son with tight lips. She didn't necessarily look sad or angry, she just looked unsure.

"It happened," Sera whispered to me.

I whipped my head down to my own imprint. She was leaning her head against my chest, watching Lucas was an unreadable expression. Without further ado, I walked outside with her.

"You saw this happening?" I asked her increduclously.

"I saw Leah. I didn't know her name though so I couldn't tell you who she was."

"You saw her though. Imprinting on Lucas."

Her head tilted a little bit. "Imprinting?"

I immediately backtracked. "Imprinting is just something some wolves do. That's not the point though. You saw it happening?"

She sighed and looked down. "Are you mad at me?"

I snorted. "Sera, I could never be angry at you. But just promise me one thing."

She looked up with her big, blue eyes. "Yeah?"

"Tell me your dreams for now on. Don't keep them a secret or tell me right when they're going to happen. Because I had no clue how much you knew," I pleaded.

She curled up into me and I instinctively held her tighter. "Okay, Seth. I just didn't know what it was, so I didn't know what to say."

I kissed her forhead. "Oh, you silly, intelligent girl. You know too much for your own good. It's like talking to an adult sometimes."

She smiled at that. "Do you think you'll make that connection someday? Like Leah?"

I glanced down at her and hid my smile in her unruly hair. "I think I will. There's a very good chance."

"What if I don't like her?" she asked a bit ruefully, "Would you still like her too? I'm your best friend."

I chuckled. "I think you would like her. And if you didn't, well then I could never ever have a connection with her."

She smiled at that, as Leah and Sam came walking back down the hall. Sam was smiling slightly, and Leah had a full-blown grin on her face. She saw me with Sera and immediately ran over. "Hi, Seth. I didn't see you earlier."

I snorted. "Well, yeah, considering you were a little preoccupied and everything."

She chuckled and punched my shoulder. "Well, this must be Seraphina. I've heard a lot about you," Leah said, smiling at Sera.

Sera grinned her million watt smile back. "Hi, Leah. I'm Seth's best friend."

Leah and I both chuckled. "I can see that," she said, and turned around to face Sam agan with a pleading expression. He just smiled and gestured to the door. She wasted no time, and hurried inside. Sam winked at me before disappearing as well.

The rest of the day passed by relatively slowly after that. Leah had spent the entire day in the delivery room, caring for Lucas whenever Sam wasn't or Emily was sleeping. She just stared at him with the same classic doe-eyed expression as previous imprinters before her. Sera fell asleep on my chest, and I took her back to my old place my mother still owned. We were going to use it the week we were here as our place to stay. Sera didn't even stir when I pulled her out of the car. I walked inside, expecting it to smell musty from not having anyone live here, but it looked like someone visited it regularly. I dragged all the way to my old room, and plopping down onto my bed, holding Sera on my chest, I fell asleep.

* * *

><p><em>AN: There is it! Finally Leah imprints. And yes, on a little kid as well. And yes, on Sam's kid. I thought it was the most logical reason why she couldn't get over Sam, was because she was destined to imprint on his son. So...there you go! Comment, subscribe? _

_P.S. Sera's party dress: http :/ media. photobucket. com / image / dress %20little% 20girl / dcake2013 / Clothes / red-ruffle-flower-girl-dress . jpg?o=17_

_(Take out the spaces!)_

_Love you all, _

_Until next time,_

_Chels._


	5. Blunts and Bachelor Parties

_A/N: I've decided to gift you guys with TWO chapters instead of one because while my computer's been down (all I did was accidentally press a button and my internet stopped working -_-), I've been hard at work for these chapters. I'm currently JUST starting chapter 9, while making improvements to chapter 8._

_Things are about to get really intense from here on out in this story, especially the next few chapters. It will start drifting out from the roughly T area it's been sitting at to a more M-esque story. Drug usage, HEAVY cussing, drinking, adult themes and horror are going to start being intertwined. You've been forewarned. If you don't like any of that stuff, I recommend you stop reading this story right now._

_This will take place when Sera is almost 10 months old. So, for those of you who suck at math like me, it's in September. This is Jacob and Nessie's pre-wedding._

_Thanks, everyone! _

_Xoxo, Chels._

**WARNING:**** Underage drinking and illegal drug references/usage in this chapter. Both are bad. Just a reminder, if you are under sixteen, you should not be reading M. **

_Disclaimer: Don't own Twilight!_

**Chapter Song**: _Blame It On the Alcohol, _by Jamie Foxx. There _is _a reason. Hahaha.

* * *

><p><strong>Seth POV<strong>

"For the love of God, Alice," I moaned, "_Please _let me eat."

I had been standing in Alice's ridiculously gigantic closet for the past three hours now, and I had nothing to eat in that length of time. To a wolf, that's an entire day without food in our eyes.

"Oh, shush," she reprimanded, measuring the length of my arm for the hundreth time, "You ate three hours ago. It was a big meal."

"I'm _starving, _and I'm _tired, _and I miss my freaking imprint. You have been working on this monkey suit for the past three hours!" I hissed. I just wanted to hold Sera and crawl in the corner, hoping that Alice would forget my presence until the wedding day. Ness and Jake were getting married, and I was the best man. But no one told me that being the best man, I would be subjected to _this. _I'm pretty sure Embry and Quil went through half of what I was going through.

Alice flicked my head, and I let out a yelp. I turned to glare at her.

"You complain a lot," she commented, working on hemming my pant leg a bit more. I scoffed.

"I don't complain, I'm fed up. You've measured me probably a thousand times in the past three hours, so if you don't know my measurements by heart, I seriously worry about your supposedly freakish vampire retaining abilities."

She sighed and set down her measuring tape. "I'm sorry, Seth. I do, but I just can't help but be a bit of a control-freak-slash-perfectionist sometimes."

"_Sometimes?_" I asked increduclously, my eyebrows shooting to my forhead.

She burst into laughter. "Okay, majority of the time. I guess I just have to finish this pant leg here, but you are officially perfect."

I let out a joyous shout, and immediately took off the stupid suit. I climbed into my cutoff shorts, not bothering with a shirt, and practically ran downstairs before Alice could catch me again.

I ate everything I saw in the fridge, and just as I felt myself finally become satiated, Jacob, Quil, and Embry walked in. Quil was in town for groomsmen activities, but anyone could see how much he missed Claire.

"You," I growled, glaring at Jacob, "Alice spent the last three hours working on that stupid suit. Do you realize how ridiculous that is?"

Jacob laughed. "She only spent two on me, and an hour on Embry and Quil each."

Alice was going to kill me. I swear, I think this was payback for imprinting on Sera. She _says _she's fine with it, but I was seriously beginning to question her motives. "Ugh!" I growled, and stalked away, with them laughing after me.

I sought out Sera. She was a drug to me, and I needed my fix.

She was in the backyard with Emmett and Edward and Jasper, and they were teaching Sera how to play football. From what I saw, she was actually pretty good. I gave Jasper mental props when I saw her wearing knee, elbow, and shin pads, as well as a helmet. I knew if it were up to me though, I would wrap her in bubble wrap on top of everything else.

I walked over, and stooped to pick up my imprint. I held her close to me and pressed my nose into her hair, smelling her delicious lavendar and musk scent. I felt any apprehension and annoyance from earlier drift away.

"Seth!" she squealed, and threw her arms tightly around my neck. I kissed her hair.

"Hey, kiddo. You safe and everything?" I tried to make my tone teasing and light, but inside I was a nervous wreck for my little girl. It's funny how I went from happy-go-lucky Seth to mother hen Seth in the presence of Seraphina.

She pulled back and smacked my arm. "You're worse than Daddy. Hee already has these stupid pads on me." She rolled her eyes when Japser grinned.

"Sorry, darlin'. Emmett gets rowdy."

I eyed the uncle in question. "Don't hurt her," I told Emmett, which caused him to lightly punch my arm. Or he thought it was a light punch.

"Okay, Mom," he teased, and pulled Sera out of my hands to set her on the ground. "Go long!" Emmett called, and Sera sprinted down the grass. He threw the ball, and it soared high through the air. Sera jumped up fifteen feet to catch the ball, and then landed gracefully on the ground. She sprinted towards Edward then, who was busy talking to Nessie about something with his back turned. She wore a mischievious grin as she tore silently down the field. She leaped up, and before Edward had time to react, she tackled her uncle.

We all cracked up. Edward fell to the ground on his face with a loud _oof. _He whipped his head around to where his niece was, giggling at his disgruntled expression.

"I thought you liked me better than that!" Edward complained, flipping over. His hair was sticking up in every which way, and there were leaves sticking out. This caused Seraphina to giggle some more, and Emmett to boom with laughter.

"Aw, Daddy," Nessie said, patting his head. His face slipped into a childish pout. I doubled over with laughter.

"That's it," Edward growled playfully, grabbing Seraphina's leg and dangling her upside down. She giggled uncontrollably. "Time to teach you a lesson."

Jasper and Emmett laughed and walked over to her. Jasper grabbed her arms, and with her exposed belly, Emmett began to tickle her with vampire speed.

Sera writhed and shrieked with laugher. I stood on the sidelines, watching her with an amused expression. When Sera finally screamed for mercy, they set her down.

Bella emerged out of the woods, watching the commotion, when Sera winked at her. This was the universal code for "shield me from your husband." Bella did so, and while the boys were preoccupied, Sera snuck over to the mud puddle near them, and taking a handful of mud, she threw it at the back of their heads.

"Hey!" they all responded, whipping around to see Sera aiming another throw at them with vampire speed. The second one hit Emmett square in the face.

"Oh, you little shit, you're _really _gonnapay for that one," Emmett said menacingly, and stooped down to grab a handful of mud. Sera couldn't move out of the way fast enough before Emmett dropped the lot of the top of her head.

"Ewww!" she shrieked, giggling. She looked over at me. "Seth, help me! Two against three!"

I laughed. "You got it, boss." I ran over to her, and stooped to get my own handful of mud.

Two minutes later, we were having a full on war. The five of us were covered head to toe in mud, and no one seemed to be relenting. I screamed for Jacob, Embry, and Quil to come outside and help us. They emerged, and Edward planted a mud-patty right on Jacob's face.

"That's for having sex before marriage with my daughter, dog!" he screamed with glee, just as Sera connected a mud ball to his leg.

"That's it," Jake growled, and the three of them joined our side. Within minutes, they were a full-fledged part of the war too.

Jacob and Edward were battling each other, with all of their mud balls aimed towards the other one. Embry and Quil had their aims towards Emmett and Jasper, except when Jake wasn't looking, Embry was throwing mud balls at Jake's head too with satisfaction. Sera was perched on my back, throwing balls and giggling uncontrollably as she hit every single one of her uncles over and over again. Whenever they threw back at our duo, the mud always hit me.

"_WHAT IS GOING ON?" _a trilling voice yelled from the porch. We all stopped and cowered a little bit. This wasn't good.

Alice was standing on the porch with barely reigned in fury in her eyes. I felt Sera shrink a little behind my back. No one could look Alice in the eye. Despite the fact that there was a yard full of vampires and werewolves, we all wanted to hide like we were nothing more than humans. Alice, though small, was a force of nature and you were a fool if you messed with her.

"Um- we were just-" Jacob stuttered.

"What if I _needed _any of you for anything? You're all part of this wedding! I've been _slaving _to try to make Nessie happy, and what do you do, Jacob? You're _all_ out here, acting like wild animals! _Japser Whitlock, _you too? And _Seraphina Marie, _you look atrocious!We have to go into town in an _hour _to get your flower girl dress! You're covered head to toe in mud! Emmett, I shouldn't be suprised. Edward, I'm _very_ surprised at you. And Seth Clearwater, for Pete's sake. You should have definitely known better!" she ranted. It seemed like with every word she said, we all shrinked a little more into ourselves.

"Sera, we need to get you cleaned up," she growled, and I put Sera down gently on the grass. She stalked over to her mom. She _tsk_ed when she saw her daughter up close.

"I need to get you in the shower," she muttered, and Sera followed her inside, looking abashed.

Esme walked outside, shaking her head. She held a pile of towels and fresh clothes. "I'm hosing you down. All of you- clothes off now." Too ashamed to care that we were stripping naked in front of each other, we all did as she asked. She took turns spraying water at us until we were all clean. None of us looked Esme in the eyes.

When we were all sprayed off, she handed us all towels, and we got dressed. We stalked inside after that, not talking to each other.

Seraphina emerged a little while later, clean, in a white dress and bright blue Chucks. Her hair still was damp and even more unruly than usual. Alice followed down with an exasperated expression on her face.

"Those _shoes, _Seraphina," Alice whined, looking at them disdainfully.

Sera crossed her arms and looked away. "They're my favorite pair. Don't throw them away."

Alice raised an eyebrow. "You'll grow out of them quickly, though."

Seraphina threw out a huff of annoyance and turned around. "They're still my favorite! You always try to dress me and send me in endless fashion shows. I don't mind you dressing me, but you do it for hours and hours! All I want is to play and get dirty. I don't _care _about fashion. I wish I could just go naked." Bella was sitting near me, and she was biting her lip, trying not to laugh. I felt really bad for my imprint. All I wanted to do was to cuddle with her and tell her that everything would be all right. Sera looked disgruntled and she stomped away from her mother towards me. Alice sighed, and slumped towards Jasper.

"Up," she commanded me, and I reached down to pick her up. She let out little angry tears, and I brushed them away quickly.

"Sera, tell me what's wrong," I requested, kissing her hair and holding her close.

I felt her anger rise. "Mommy! All she cares about is fashion! I just want to get dirty and play and have _fun. _She never wants me to get dirty. All I want is someone to play with." The expression on her face was so heartbreaking that I almost started crying. "I mean, you always play with me, but you're older-"

"You don't like playing with me?" I asked very sadly. My heart felt like it was breaking.

Her eyes widened. "No, not that! I love playing with you. You're my best friend. But you're older, and you do adult things and you patrol with Jacob and Embry."

I kissed her cheek. "Honey, I would never get tired of playing with you. Maybe we can find someone your age though for you to play with." I thought for a moment. "Sera, do you remember Claire? Quil is her wolf."

She shook her head. "I haven't met her."

I smiled. "Well, my mother is chomping at the bit to see you again, and since we're flying to La Push for the wedding, you can meet her. She's nice, and you can be playmates."

"Yes! Sue really wants me there?" she asked excitedly.

I laughed at her. "Hon, if it was up to her, she'd never let you leave. She absolutely loves you."

She grinned widely. "And Claire?"

"You'll see her there. She's nine, but you already look almost five and you're probably smarter than her anyways-"

She threw her arms around me and kissed my nose. "I love you, Seth."

I hugged her tightly back, breathing in her familiar scent. I felt happy because she was happy, and there was nothing more to it. "I love you too, kiddo."

* * *

><p>Finally. <em>Finally. <em>We were flying to La Push the week before the wedding. Alice was an insane woman, and even her husband couldn't be in the same room with her for very long at the time being. Nessie had the dress, and Leah as her maid of honor and Rachel and Kim and Emily as her bridesmaids. The entire gang was flying out to La Push to make last minute preperations.

The wedding was going to at First Beach (the treaty would allow the Cullens on for that day), and the reception would be at the Cullen's old house. When Jacob and Nessie got married, they were going to stay in Idaho with us, but were planning on moving back when Leah retired in a few decades (Lucas still had a long way to go) so that Jacob could take over the pack. Sam had already retired from the pack, and now Leah was the Alpha, considering she had already acted at a Beta. Apparently, she was a really good Alpha too, and everyone liked her more because she was imprinted, and therefore no longer bitter. I was proud of my sister. This was something she deserved more than anyone I knew.

The Cullens chartered their own plane, and Edward flew it since he had his pilot's liscense. Bella sat with him in the cockpit, and the rest of us sat out in the cabin.

Sera was sitting in my lap, drawing Nessie and Jake, who was sitting in each other's laps and just staring at each other like it would be the last time they ever looked in each other's eyes. Rosalie popped in _The King's Speech _and they were all contentedly watching it. I looked over at Quil, and saw that he was staring at a picture of Claire. He had gone a week without his imprint. A week without Seraphina was painful just in thought, so I felt bad for him.

Sera hopped off my lap to go show her cousin what she drew. She handed Nessie the picture, but when she did so, her small hand brushed Nessie's torso.

Sera sucked in a gasp and jumped back. I ran over to her and knelt down next to her.

"Are you hurt?" I asked worriedly, inspecting her hand meticulously. But the second I touched her palm, she jumped back away from me too.

Edward ran over to her from the cockpit, presumably putting the plane on autopilot, and careful not to touch her hand, held her close. Sera was shaking uncontrollably, her head in her uncle's shoulder.

"What's going on?" I growled, internally freaking out.

Edward didn't say anything right away. He didn't look sad; in fact he looked almost happy and very amazed. Sera was whispering in his ear, asking if he saw and if it was normal. He tried to consol her, but she was convinced that whatever just happened wasn't natural at all.

"Edward," I muttered through clenched teeth. I wasn't normally like this, but my imprint was sad and confused and scared. I didn't care much for normalcy at the moment.

He sighed. "Sera has another gift, it seems," Edward responded, "Psychometry."

"What's that?" I asked confused, touching Sera's hair worriedly. She shuddered against my touch. Oddly enough, her skin felt a little overheated.

"It's the ability to see someone's past or future through touch. She saw Nessie's future and your past, Seth."

"What did she see of my past?" I asked worriedly.

Sera whipped around and looked at me with tears in her eyes. "I saw your dad. The day he died. The day you became a wolf."

I scooted closer to her and held her in my arms. "Shhhh, it'll be okay, kiddo. It's true, my dad died. He loved me, but it was just his time." I felt her tears leak onto my shirt. I felt immensely sad that the reason she was crying was because of the sadness I felt all those years ago. I whispered to her that I was all right now and that everything was going to be perfect.

"What did she see about me?" Nessie asked.

Sera stiffened and raised her head. Edward and her shared a knowing look. He turned looked at his daughter. "You'll find out soon."

"Aw, c'mon Dad! Sera?" Nessie pleaded.

"It's not bad," Sera said, smiling.

Renesmee huffed and leaned back into her seat. Jacob rubbed small circles on her arm. I noticed how Embry stared at her face with a little bit of sadness, and touched her leg in a soothing way. I looked away quickly.

Sera walked back over to me. Tenatively, she layed her hand on my forearm. She sighed in relief when she didn't see anything.

"Try to control it, Sera," Edward said, "Touch my arm, see if you see anything. But _try _to see something. Focus your energy on it."

She seemed apprehensive to try again. I smiled at her encouragingly, giving her a small little push towards Edward. She walked over with her forehead squinted in concentration, and rested her hand on Edward's arm. She flinched back almost immediately.

"Was that Aunt Bella?" she whispered in awe.

Edward smiled. "It was. That was the time when I first fell in love with her."

"You were watching her sleep."

Edward chuckled. "I did that a lot."

Carlisle piped up. "Now don't think about it. Try to focus your energy _away _from it."

She put her hand back on Edward's arm, but she still flinched back. "I saw...you were very sick before you turned into a vampire, weren't you, Uncle Edward?"

He smiled grimly. "I was, but Carlisle saved me. I wasn't all that good either for awhile after I changed, and people died because of me. It wasn't until a little while later did I realize I didn't want to be a monster."

Sera placed her hand on her uncle's cheek. Edward closed his eyes.

"Are you seeing anything?" Rosalie asked curiously.

"She doesn't need to think about _not_ seeing anything. That part comes naturally. It's like Nessie. She has to will herself to project her thoughts, but sometimes she slips up. Before she brushed her skin with Nessie's, she was thinking about what it'd be like to see the future while awake. So in a way, it means that she _was _willing it. And when she touched Seth, she was already thinking about what she saw. She accidentally willed it again."

Sera just nodded her head at what her uncle was saying. "It's true. I want to be more useful, like Mommy. She can see whenever she wants. I can only see when I fall asleep. And I guess when I touch people now." Her eyebrows furrowed a little.

"Sera, come here," I told her, and I opened my arms in a perfect crevice that seemed to be designed for her. She took one look at my arms, and she flung herself at me. I felt more tears leak onto my shirt.

"Honey, why are you crying? Please don't cry," I begged, lifting her face up to me and brushing her tears away with the pads of my thumb.

"I'm so _different,_" she wailed, which was out of place for her. I could feel how shaken up she was by this through our bond.

"Different is a good thing," I told her, smiling and planting a kiss on her cheekbone.

She sniffled. "I don't think so."

"I think it's an amazing thing," I told her, "You're different, and that's okay. I'm different too. You've only grown up with people who are different, but I can guarantee that there are very few shape-shifting wolves out there. Do you think that what I am is a bad thing?"

She shook her head fiercely. "Not at all."

"See? And what about your family, hmm? We're all different, and that's perfectly all right. You're special. You're my most favorite person in the whole universe, and it's because you're the most special person I know."

She peeked up at me through her impossibly long eyelashes. "I'm your favorite?"

I smiled. "My absolute favorite. There's no competition."

"Wow, man. Thanks," Embry said, feigning hurt. I rolled my eyes.

"Sorry, dude. You can't compete," I told him, kissing Sera's hair.

Sera giggled, and ran to hug her mom and dad. Jasper looked at me when Sera's head was buried in Alice's shoulder, and mouthed _thank you. _I nodded and smiled.

I felt like Jasper had finally accepted that I would always have his daughter's best interests at heart, and that she was extremely important to me. He saw that she needed me as much as I needed her, and he was okay with that.

* * *

><p>We landed in Seattle and like last time, with their vampire regard to the speed limit, we made it to Forks quickly.<p>

We stopped first in the old house, setting things up and getting everything ready. We hung up all our clothes and while Alice was yammering away at vampire speed about bridesmaid dresses and flower arrangements to Nessie, I left the house with Sera, Embry, Jake, and Quil.

First on our stop was to Claire's house on the Makah rez. Quil was bouncing up and down in his seat like a five year old on his way to Disneyland. We hadn't even parked the car yet when Quil jumped out of the car and ran to the front doorstep.

Haley Young opened the door with a smile on her face, and hugged Quil tightly. She looked a lot like Emily, except without the scars. Embry parked, and we all hopped out.

"Hey, you guys!" she called happily, and turned her body slightly to call indoors, "Claire! Quil's here! You're going to Emily's!"

I heard Claire bursting out of her room and bounding down the stairs, two steps at a time. She launched herself into Quil's arms who hugged her as desperately as a hungry man that needed food.

Haley watched with an amused expression, and commented about how they acted like it was the end of the world "or something." Yeah Haley, bet on the "or something." When they finally pulled away from each other, Claire ran down the steps and group hugged all of us. Embry, like the sarcastic asshole he was, bounced up and down like a preteen, gushing about how "hot her hair was, like OMG." Claire smacked him for that one, but look amused. I just rolled my eyes.

"We're leaving, Mom!" Claire called, yanking the car door open and seating herself inside. Quil followed shortly afterwards, and I climbed in the third row with Seraphina. When Embry started the car, Claire turned around in her seat and looked at Sera with a happy expression.

"Hi, Seraphina, I'm Claire." Claire extended her hand to Sera, who shook it equally as happy.

"You can call me Sera, if you prefer."

Claire raised her eyebrow, not used to a four-year-old talking so dignified. I just chuckled.

"Sera here is half-vampire and freakishly smart, in case if you were wondering. That's why she talks like that. She grew up with vampires that are all a century old."

Claire knew about everything, and has for awhile. She grew up with the stories and has seen Quil phase on multiple occasions. She also knew what he was protecting the tribe from when he phased, but knew about the exception with the Cullens. She's even been over at the Cullens' before. She however did not know anything about imprinting.

"What's wrong with the way I talk?" Sera asked, frowning.

I kissed the top of her head. "Nothing, kiddo. You just sound really smart, that's all."

"Oh," she said, and her eyebrows furrowed together. It was a habit of hers. "Should I talk differently?"

"Talk any way you want, hon," I told her.

"Just please don't sound like a nasally valley girl. _Please,_" Embry begged from the driver's seat.

"Like how you did earlier?" I cocked an eyebrow.

He laughed. "Exactly."

Sera giggled at this. "You're weird, Embry."

The entire car burst into laughter.

"That's Embry in a nutshell, squirt," Jacob said from the passenger seat. Embry leaned over and punched his arm with a little bit more force than necessary.

We continued like that, making fun of Embry while Claire and Sera giggled, until we pulled up in front of the Uley's. Leah came outside, carrying Lucas with a happy expression.

"Little brother!" she squealed, and I wrapped my arms around her. Lucas kicked his legs and made happy baby noises.

"Hi, Lucas!" I said, patting him gently on the top of his head. He grinned a one-toothed smile at me.

"Cute kid," I commented, and Leah smiled contentedly.

I took Lucas in my arms while Leah went off to hug everyone else, and I knelt so that Sera could get a better look.

"He's cute," Sera said, smiling at him brightly. "Hi, Lucas, I'm Sera." She ruffled the top of his little patch of dark hair.

Lucas made baby noises at her and reached for her excitedly. Sera picked him up in her arms. "You're a cutie," she cooed, kissing his face.

"Looks like someone made a new friend," a sweet voice said from behind me. I stood up and hugged my second mother.

"Emily, I've missed you." I pulled away to look at her. "No suprise pregnancies or anything this time?"

She chuckled and kissed my cheek. "Not this time."

Leah approached Sera, and knelt down to her eye level. "Do you like him?"

"He's so cute! I want a baby," she said happily, and kissed Lucas's face over and over again. If Lucas could have smiled anymore, I'd have to say that it would have been Leah holding him. Leah caught my eye and gave me an amused smile. I shook my head and looked away. Sera was _way _too young.

When Sera finally handed Lucas back to Leah, she ran into Emily's arms. "Hi, Emily!"

"Hi, sweetie. I've missed you a lot," she said softly, kissing her hair.

Inside, Sera got the same reception.

"Sera!"

"Hey, fortune-teller!"

"You're so freaking _big!_ I swear, you've grown a foot!"

Sera laughed as she hugged each wolf individually. They all commented on how fast she was going, and told her how much they missed her. I still got three phone calls a week from various pack members requesting that I bring her down.

Claire and the others walked inside, and they all embraced every single one. Claire and Sera went off on their own in the corner, talking about different places they'd like to go when they grow up.

I was so happy I could burst. Sera was making friends, surrounded by people who loved her- the same people who I loved- and everything was perfect. I made a promise to myself that I would take her here as much as possible for now on.

We laughed, and visited, and ate. Claire and Sera were inseperable, talking and laughing and eating so close their plates were touching. Nessie showed up a couple of hours later, looking exausted but happy.

"Hey there, bride-to-be," Jared said, standing up and giving her a hug. Everyone was smiling at her. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Embry look away. Quil didn't miss it either.

Quil and I exchanged a brief but meaningful look. We didn't understand what was wrong with Embry.

Nessie rounded up the girls in her wedding party and talked details with them. Kim and Emily and Leah and Rachel were sitting so close on the couch their legs were touching, laughing and gossiping with their heads bent together. Their imprinted wolves looked onto the group with interest.

"Can you hear anything?" Paul whispered to Jared.

"Nah, they're talking too quietly," Jared responded, "What about you, Sam?"

His eyebrows squeezed together in concentration. "Dammit, I can't hear anything. I've been retired too long."

"I can't hear shit either," Jacob whispered.

Quil snorted into his glass. They all whipped around, giving him an odd stare.

"What?" Jacob demanded.

"You guys should hear yourselves right now!" he exclaimed.

"Just wait 'til you want to get married, you're never gonna want to let your imprint out of your sight," Jacob said, and we all laughed. That is, everyone except for Embry who got up and stalked out the door without saying a word.

Jacob's eyes followed after his best friend. "What's up with him?" I saw the concern in his eyes, but hidden deep, I saw well-concealed anger in there as well.

"No clue," I said, diffusing the situation. I started having a serious conversation with Quil about whether or not it was ethical to wrap your girl in bubble-wrap. He seemed genuinely concerned about it was well.

"You guys are ridiculous," Sera said, having heard everything we were talking about. Claire was shaking her head.

"What?" I said, adopting a goofy grin on my face.

"You're both nutjobs," Claire commented, getting up and leaving the table. Sera followed.

"Hey, don't be like that!" Quil called after them with a grin on his face.

We stayed for three hours. Claire was dozing off on Quil's lap, and Sera was blinking tiredly with a contented smile on her face, dangerously close to falling asleep. We took this as a cue to leave. After making our rounds to everyone, we promised we'd visit them tomorrow, and we left.

We dropped Claire off first, and Sera and Claire embraced tightly, promising they'd see each other tomorrow. I smiled, happy that Sera had made a human friend.

Embry never showed back up. We tried calling him a couple of times, but then it'd just ring and go to voicemail. We eventually had to leave without him.

Sera fell asleep with her head on my lap on the way back to the Cullen's. She didn't wake when I carried her inside and tucked her in. I kissed her forehead, and wished that whatever she was dreaming about right now, it would mean a good future for her.

The week had passed fairly quickly. We established a routine- wake up, eat, get dressed, help with the wedding preperations for a little bit, and then head to La Push for the rest of the day. Sera commented to me on the third day that La Push was becoming her favorite place in the world. I smiled at that, and told her it was my favorite place too.

Secretly, maybe when we got older, I wanted to move back to La Push. It would be awesome to have Sera live in the place that I grew up in.

By the fifth day, the Cullen's presence had made a stir like everyone was dreading. Two new wolves phased. One was Jameson Spencer, who was related to the Atearas through the same great-grandmother as Quil. The other was Jared's first cousin, Gavin Linney. They were both sixteen. Leah was gone much of the time now, helping the two of them phase back to human and get them back into school.

Seraphina had gotten her flower girl dress. Nessie wanted the color theme to be deep purple and gold, but Sera's dress was special. It was the only white dress in the bridal party besides the bride's, and it had a purple sash tied around it. The ring-bearer, Emily and Sam's six year old son Mason, would be wearing a tuxedo with a golden tie. Apperently, from what Sera described, it would be swapped, and all the guys would have purple ties while the girls had gold dresses. I knew I was wearing a purple tie, but I hadn't known about the girls.

We rehearsed a lot for the wedding as well. We couldn't set up on First Beach until the day before apparently, so we practiced in the Cullen living room. As best man, I would be walking down the aisle with Leah, the maid of honor. Quil would walk Kim, Embry would walk Rachel, and having to add another person to walk Emily, Jacob chose his first cousin, Collin Littlesea.

Two nights before the big day, we took Jacob out for his bachelor party. We had all dressed up in party clothes, and inviting every single pack member, we had a huge bonfire.

I never knew how much alcohol it took to get a wolf drunk exactly. The last time I had a drink was at the party the night before I met Sera. I watched with calculating eyes as Jacob and Quil bought case after case of beer and vodka and rum, and by the time they got to the beach, it seemed like every wolf had their very own box of alcohol.

A few of the wolves were underage, especially the ones from the Volturi visit, and Gavin and Jameson were still underaged too, but we didn't care. We all had the bodies of twenty-and-thirty-somethings. We drank and laughed and shared stories, and by the end of the night, we couldn't see straight.

I laughed uncontrollably, standing up, and then promptly falling over into the sand. All the guys doubled over laughing at me. I tried to stand up again, but I ended up falling right onto Brady's lap.

"Sorry, _Brady,_" I slurred, struggling to stand up. Aw, poop. What was the point.

I fell back onto the sand. The only one that looked remotely sober was Embry, who was glaring into the fire.

"Embry," I whispered conspicuously, crawling over to him. He raised his eyebrow.

"Yeah?"

"You're setting fire to the firepit with your face," I slurred. Hey, it made sense to me.

Embry had to appreciate that, and he busted up while tears sprang into his eyes. "Dude, you are so fucking wasted."

"Haha. Ha. Remember the time you got me high for the first time in my life?" I told him, falling back onto the sand.

Embry chuckled. "Oh yeah. Jacob and Quil and I smuggled you a blunt. You smoked half the thing, laughed uncontrollably until you cried, and then watched Paranormal Activity. You peed on yourself."

I laughed. "I like blunts," I said lamely.

Embry shook his head. "I know."

Gavin got so wasted that he puked on the sand, and then passed out. Brady and Collin were blaring LMFAO's "I'm Sexy and I Know It," and were having a dance off with Jameson and Alex and Kyle, two of them guys from the Volturi visit. Sam challenged Jacob, Quil, Jared, Paul, Embry and I to a cliff diving challenge. What the challenge was, I couldn't remember. I just remembered going cliff diving that night and winning. I also remembered emerging from the water naked.

I didn't even bother with the rest of my clothes. I put on my boxers, and stayed that way the rest of the night.

I missed Sera. So much. Why wasn't she here? Sera likes swimming. She can swim!

Where was my phone? I stomped over to where Brady was sitting. I didn't know why I assumed Brady took my phone, but I did. "I know you have my phone!" I yelled at him.

He snorted. "No, why would I have your phone?"

"You snorted! That means your guilty," I told him, and punched his face. His nose cracked when my fist connected.

"What the fuck!" Brady yelled.

"Okay, you don't have it," I told him, and walked away. He would have given it to me when I punched him. My logic was all kinds of fucked up.

I drank two more bottles of vodka after that, that I remember. I then remember Leah showing up a little while later to check on us, and she made us all follow her back to her place. We all passed out in various spots in my old house. I'm _pretty_ sure I made it up to my room before I passed out.

I woke up the next morning, feeling like absolute shit. I looked over and saw that Collin was passed out in the same bed I was, and we were both in boxers. I almost screamed.

I jumped up, but fell right back down on the floor, feeling sick to my stomach. I crawled feebily to the bathroom.

The bathroom looked atrocious. Quil had passed out on the bathroom floor. He had puked all over himself and all over the toilet. The sight alone made me vomit in the shower since I wasn't crawling closer than his knees.

"Shit," I muttered, crawling back on all fours to my room. I saw that Paul and Jacob and Brady had fallen asleep in the hallway. Paul was cuddling an empty bottle of vodka. Jacob was sleeping on his stomach, wearing his jeans from last night and a lamp shade over his head. Brady was wearing one of Leah's shirts for some reason. He still had dried blood on him from when I punched him.

I looked up and saw that Collin had just puked all over my bed, and then passed out again. I groaned, and using as much energy as I could muster, I pulled myself up and stumbled down the stairs, trying to not kick Kyle, who was sleeping on the bottom steps.

Jameson was sleeping on top of the table. Gavin was passed out by the sink with puke all over himself as well. Sam, Jared, Alex, Harrison, Josh, Anthony, and Ethan were passed out in the living room. Kiowa was in the hallway leading to Leah's room.

The house smelled like vomit, alcohol, bonfire smoke, and the ocean. Before I could puke again from all the scents assaulting my nose, I stumbled outside. The cool morning air felt good on my face.

"Hey, little brother,"Leah greeted from the back porch swing. She was smoking a blunt, drinking coffee. I snorted.

"You smoke weed?" I asked, taking the blunt from her hands and smoking some myself. She smirked.

"Fuck yeah." Her eyes were red and getting droopy.

I took a seat next to her. "The house is disgusting."

She grimaced. "I know. I saw that Gavin puked all over himself."

"So did Quil, upstairs. It's all over the bathroom. I puked in the shower, by the way." I added, taking a sip of her coffee too.

She rolled her eyes. "_Great. _I hope you know you're all cleaning up. Especially Gavin and Quil. I'm not touching that shit."

I remembered Collin. "Oh yeah, and Collin puked all over my bed too. Right when I was crawling back after puking in the shower. I think I'm gonna need new sheets."

She shook her head. "You all are insane. Why I invited seventeen drunk werewolves and ex-werewolves into my house, I will never know."

I smiled. "You're the Alpha. They're all your responsibility."

Her chest puffed out with pride. "The only girl werewolf in tribal history, the Alpha of the pack."

"You deserve it, Lee." I took another hit off the blunt, feeling it starting to set in.

"Thanks, Seth."

We stayed out like this, catching up, smoking weed. Yeah, it's not your everyday gathering, but it worked. When I finally felt the feeling really set in, I relaxed in my seat.

"Did Embry make it out okay?" I asked her.

"Yeah, he seemed fine. Buzzed, but not drunk. He just walked back to the Cullen's, I'm assuming."

"He's been acting weird lately," I confided, watching Leah roll up the second blunt.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. He always looks so angry now. And he refuses to phase with any of us anymore, especially Jacob."

"Why Jacob?" she asked, lighting the joint up.

"I have no clue. He just looks like he's going to murder someone. Or start crying."

I took a deep inhale of the blunt. I let it out with a cough, and started giggling.

"You okay there?" Leah asked, grinning.

"Oh yeah."

The others slowly woke up. Within the next two hours, all of us were awake. She made Collin, Gavin, and Quil clean their own puke up, and me clean out the shower. She also commanded everyone to pick up the rest of the house. We grumbled, and slumped off to do our cleaning.

The three pukers took turns showering in Leah's master shower. In an hour's time, the house looked fairly respectable.

Jacob drove home with me, and hung over and high out of my mind, I made it to the Cullen's house.

I stumbled in, grinning, smelling like weed, alcohol, and the ocean. Before Sera could spot me and ruin her innocence simultaneously, I stumbled upstairs. I made it as far as Rosalie and Emmett's room before I promptly passed out on their bed, slipping into a dreamless, intoxicated sleep.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Yeah, so...Seth's got a bit of a wild streak in him. You're also gonna find out what Embry's problem is in the next chapter. I might do half of the chapter from his perspective, I don't know. I also made up the names of the seven "Volturi Visit" wolves. Another reminder, __**DRUGS ARE BAD! **__Don't do them, and follow the law. This story IS rated M, so there will be future lemons, maybe more drug usage, and violence. _

_Changes to the chapters as well. I'm going to be adding either a chapter song, quote, or both for now on. This chapter song was playing in my head as I was writing the last part. (; Hahahaha._

_Other than that, Leah is a pot head/Alpha, Seth finally let loose, and Embry "set fire to the firepit with his face." Oh, the joys._

_Until next time, _

_Chels, xoxo._


	6. Shell

_A/N: My computer was being stupid and dropped my connection to the internet, which meant no fanficion. ): Sadface. To make up for it, I'm posting TWO chapters! Yay. (:_

_Anyways, this chapter is pretty intense. You'll find out Embry's problem in it. _

_Slight reference to underage drinking again, and ANGST. Lots of it._

_Again with the disclaimer. Don't own Twilight. I own this fanfic's plotline and any unrecognizable characters from the saga._

**Chapter Song:** There's a couple this time. _Anywhere But Here, _by Mayday Parade, and _A Thousand Years, _by Christina Perri. That's Nessie and Jake's first dance. _Anywhere But Here _is mostly directed towards the end of the chapter.

"_These violent delights have violent ends, and in their triumph die, like fire and powder, which, as they kiss, consume."_

_~William Shakespeare_

* * *

><p><strong>Seth POV<strong>

Let me tell you, don't get drunk two days before an Alice Cullen wedding. Because nothing is worse that being hung over the day before it.

Alice, I'm positive, is crazy. It's like Hurricane Alice, level five and everything. I felt like I was being controlled by a dictator.

"A little to the left, you guys!" I heard her call to Edward and Emmett, who were setting up the alter. She had moved it five or six times so far. Or rather, she had _them _move it five or six times.

"And...there! Perfect!" Alice squealed, clapping her hands. Edward rolled his eyes and walked over to Bella, who was unloading the pews. Rosalie walked over and immediately helped her sister string up the flowers.

I sat on the back pew, trying not to pass out. Sera was sitting on my lap, drawing a detailed picture of the ocean, and I focused on that.

I looked down at her very realistic picture in awe, and suddenly, Sera ripped the page out of the way. I cocked my eyebrow as she started to draw at lightning speed on the pad of paper.

"What's wrong, Sera?" I asked, giving her shoulder a little shake. Her eyes were out of focus, not even staring at the page as she began drawing faster and faster.

And faster. Her hand was a blur on the page.

"Sera!" I yelled, shaking her out of her trace. She blinked a couple of times and her hand automatically stopped.

She looked up at me with confusion. "What did I do?"

I pointed at the pad of paper. She looked down and gasped.

It was her. As a baby. But not only that, it was her, crawling out of her first mother's womb. She was drawing a grisly sight to say the least. In the back, a vampire stood, watching with a menacing, sick smile plastered on his face.

Her eyes started to tear.

"Oh, Seth. I...I always wondered...is that me?" she asked, staring at it in horror.

"Alice," I called, and she immediately ran over.

Before she could even ask what the matter was, I handed her the pad. She studied it for a second, and then it fell from her grasp.

"Seraphina," she whispered, looking at her daughter.

"What is it? What did I draw?" she wailed, tears coming fast. I wiped them away as quickly as I could.

"Sera, I have to tell you. You know that I am not your birth mother, right? That woman...that woman is. She gave you to me right before...she..." Alice trailed, off, allowing her daughter to fill in the blanks.

"I know you found me, and I remember I bit someone before you picked me up...oh no!" she gasped, a shaking hand covering her mouth in horror.

Alice's shoulders drooped. "Yes, that was your birth mother."

Her hand dropped, and silent tears were now streaming faster down her cheeks than I could wipe them away. "I killed her."

Alice tore Sera from my grasp and hugged her close. "You didn't mean to. You were a baby. Nessie did the same thing to Bella, but Edward was able to save her. That woman didn't have the same luck. The man, standing behind her, he was sick and twisted and _wanted _her to die. There was nothing I could do. Edward killed that man luckily, so he can't do that to another woman again."

Seraphina sobbed into her mother's shoulder. My limbs started shaking with the grief and fear I felt through my imprint. I stood up and wrapped my arms around the both of them.

"I-I'm a m-m-_monster,_" she wailed, and I couldn't stand it anymore. I took Sera into my arms and cradled her back and forth, telling her how beautiful she was and how perfect she was, and there was nothing bad about her, and that it was an accident and she couldn't help it. She hugged my neck tightly and sobbed brokenly into my shoulder.

No one of her age should have to know sadness like that. It was an excrutiating sight.

Alice stood there, watching her daughter with grief-filled eyes. She reached over and put a cold, delicate hand on Sera's face.

"Sera, I want you to know that you _are _our daughter. You came into our lives for a reason. I love you more than I can ever possibly say, and I want you to know that. You are _not _a monster, no more of one than Seth or Aunt Bella or Grandpa Carlisle. You're my little angel, my little seraphim. I don't know anyone purer than you." Alice bent down and kissed her forhead delicately, and Sera shuddered a little bit.

"Mommy, would you have loved me more if I came from you?" she asked feebily, looking up at her mom.

"Oh, honey, there's nothing you could do that could ever make me love you more. No matter where you came from, you're my daughter," she exclaimed, and pulled Sera up for a tight hug which she returned.

"I love you, Mommy," she whispered.

"I love you too, angel."

Alice set her back down on my lap. "You're magic, darling. You're our little miracle. I never thought I'd love you and your father as much as I do, but I do. You make everything perfect. Always remember that." She ducked down to kiss her forhead again, and lingering for a second, she walked away with less spring in her step than usual.

Sera slumped in my arms. I held her tightly. "You still love me too, Seth? Even though you saw where I came from?"

I chuckled and kissed her hair. "There's nothing you could do that could ever make me leave or hate you. That's a promise. I love you forever and ever, Seraphina."

Tears rolled down her face again. "I love you too, Seth."

"Hey, hey. None of that," I told her, wiping her tears away again. "Stop crying, kiddo. You're too young to feel sadness like this."

She snorted. "I feel old."

Poor kid. _I'm going to change that, _I thought. I felt a mischevious smile form on my face. "Then we're going to have to change that, now don't we?"

She shrieked with laughter when I picked her up and threw her over my shoulder. She beat on my back uselessly, and then Cullens stopped and stared with amusement as I walked her over to the shoreline. The water lapped at my feet.

"Say the word! Say you don't feel old anymore!" I warned.

"Never!" she screamed, giggling.

Running a few feet in, I tossed her into the ocean. She shrieked and giggled as she hit the water. When her head rose again, she stood in the surf, pushing her hair out of her way.

"I'm soaking wet now!" she giggled.

I grinned and crossed my arms. Rosalie walked over with her eyebrow cocked. "You know, if you wanted to go swimming, you should have brought your swimsuits."

I laughed. "It was a spur-of-the-moment decision."

"You suck!" Sera said, running away down the beach. Looks like she picked up a few words from Claire. "I'm gonna get you!" I called.

She was fast, but I reached her in no time. I swung her up over my shoulder and with her shrieking and giggling, I tossed her back into the ocean.

We played like that for hours on end. Quil and Claire showed up later in their bathing suits, and we played Chicken in the surf. With Sera's strength, we won every time.

All in all, after Sera and I started playing on the surf, it was a good day. We effectively dodged Crazy for most of the day, and Esme showed up with towels and sandwiches for us later. Claire and Sera had one sandwich; Quil and I inhaled five each.

We stayed until the sun started going down on First Beach. We dropped Claire off at her house, and then with contented smiles on our faces, we drove to the Cullen's feeling more fulfilled than we had in awhile.

* * *

><p>I was dreaming that I was living on First Beach. I had a house there, right on the surf, and I was a happy man. Sera lived with me, as a little kid, and four or five times in the dream I would take her out to go throw her into the surf. We would grow old like that, living on First Beach, not a care in the world.<p>

But Sera couldn't grow old, and neither could I. The house would probably deteriorate because of the water constantly lapping at it 24/7, and Jasper would never let her live with me anyways until she physically stopped growing. But it was a dream, and it was peaceful, and I wanted it to be real.

"Seth, SETH!" I heard.

That was odd. Everything was so peaceful here.

"SETH CLEARWATER, I WILL RIP A LIMB OFF IF YOU DON'T GET UP!"

I groaned, and my eyes fluttered open. Alice stood there with a hand on her hip, the face of rage.

"Everyone is already getting ready, and you're sleeping in!" she scoffed, and walked out of the room. I groaned again. It was true, I heard lots of commotion throughout the house.

I rolled out of bed. I glanced at the clock- 7:30 in the morning. I rolled my eyes at Alice, and pulling a shirt over my head, I walked downstairs.

Esme and Bella were cooking a mountain of food, buffet style, for the wolves and Sera. Sera's face lit up when she saw me, and she flung herself into my arms. I held her and kissed her cheeks and her bed hed.

"Hey, kiddo, everything taste good?" I ruffled her already poofy hair. She hadn't bothered taming it for breakfast. Personally, I thought it was adorable.

"Yeah, Aunt Bella made chocolate chip pancakes," she said, grinning.

"Boy, did she," Jacob moaned into his plate. His eyes closed at the chocolatey deliciousness. "Bella, it's too bad you can't eat this food now, but I am so happy you learned how to cook before you turned into a vamp. Your pancakes..." He was at a loss for words.

"They're freaking amazing," Quil finished, shoveling food into his mouth.

Embry however was chicken-pecking his food with his fork. He didn't seem to be eating. And he looked miserable, but was trying to hide it as best he could.

"Thanks, guys," Bella said, smiling. Esme walked over to me with a plate-full of chocolate chip pancakes and sausage that smelled like heaven.

"This plate of food is going to last approximately 5 minutes," I told her honestly, taking it and sitting down. I picked up my fork and started shoveling food in my mouth faster than was probably healthy or normal.

The other three were done with their food, and Jacob was bouncing in his seat excitedly with the biggest smile I had ever seen plastered on his face. The minute I put my fork down, Alice was shepherding us upstairs.

"Where's Nessie?" Jacob asked excitedly.

"Well, we did a good job keeping it under wraps, but the minute I'm finished dressing you four up, I'm running to Bella and Edward's cottage. She's getting ready right there now with Rosalie."

"Can I see her?" Jacob asked, already moving towards the door.

Alice stood in front of him and growled fiercely. I never thought it was possible for someone as small as Alice to tower over someone, but she did just that. Jacob shrank back, looking abashed.

"It was just a thought," he grumbled.

"I swear to you, Jacob Black, if you so much as take one step in her direction today before the ceremony, Nessie will have no husband to marry. Understood?" Alice crossed her arms menacingly.

He hung his head. "Yes ma'am."

Alice rolled her eyes, and Edward and Jasper walked in the room with our tuxedos. They were already dressed in their outfits, completely ready.

"Edward, Jasper, make sure they get into them properly. Esme's going to come up here to do your hair. I'm going to go check on the bride now. See you all later," she said, and flitted out of the room.

We all dressed. Jacob was finished first, practically jumping around with happiness. Embry was the slowest, and seemed adamant to take as much time as possible getting ready. I just rolled my eyes at his weird behavior.

We were all shocked to see Collin stumbled in almost an hour late.

"Dude, where were you?" Quil growled.

"You will not _believe _what I have been through," Collin said, his eyes huge and wide.

Collin took a deep breath and looked out the window. "So, I was driving to pick up something from my house before I came here, and I got the strangest feeling in my gut, and it seemed to be directing me towards the woods. I pulled over and phased to follow the feeling, and I saw a vampire about to kill this woman. I didn't hesitate- I jumped on the thing and tore it to shreds. It wasn't a very good fighter since it was a newborn. I phased to throw a match on it, and I looked down at the girl, and-and..." His face took on a dreamy quality. "Darcy."

"You imprinted?" Quil asked.

He nodded with a smile on his face. "She wasn't hurt, thank God. She was terrified though, and I thought it was partly because of me. I asked her if I scared her after I just tore a leech to shreds in front of her eyes, and she jumped up and kissed me." His face broke out into a grin.

"I told her my name, and she gave me her number. She called me her hero." Collin collapsed into the chair, smiling like a madman.

"Damsel in distress," I said, chuckling.

"Yeah," he said dreamily, staring out the window. Quil laughed at him.

"Well, Romeo, hate to burst your bubble, but if you make Jake wait anymore to marry his imprint, he will rip your nuts off."

And it was true. He was bouncing up and down in the corner, staring at the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of his future wife.

Collin nodded, and dressed in his tuxedo faster than Jacob even did. We all looked presentable enough to get married.

I had to hold Jacob back from running to the limo. When he gave me a confused look, I shook my head at him and said, "Chill out. You'll get married today, I promise."

Jacob settled for a contented grin, and one-by-one we slid into the limo. I looked over at the limo driver and winked at him with my special suprise. He nodded, and pressed the stereo on.

_Poppin' bottles on the ice,_

_Like a blizzard,_

_When we drink we do it right,_

_Gettin' slizzarded,_

_Sippin' scissors in my ride,_

_Like 3-6,_

_Now I'm feelin' so fly like a G6._

Everyone in the car laughed, including Embry. We started bouncing around like maniacs, drinking straight from the champagne bottle. By the time we got there, we were full-on raving in the car.

_All the sober girls around me, they be actin' like they drunk!_

"HELL YEAH!" I screamed with the song, sliding out of the car. Quil laughed at me.

The sky was overcast today, perfect for the vampire attendees. The alter and the pews were all set up. Yellow and purple and white flowers were strung all over both, making the air smell really good. The waves crashed onto the shore, adding to the overall effect. It was a beautiful wedding.

We stood at the alter. I was next to Jake, then it was Embry, and then Quil, and then Collin. On the groom's side of the aisle, I saw my entire family and their imprints. On the bride's side, I saw the Cullens, the Amazons, and the Denalis. I worried because of the vampire's close proximity, they would cause another boost in the werewolf population.

Rosalie began to play on the piano near the alter. Pacbell's Canon.

I saw rustling at the edge of the forest. The bridesmaids emerged, Leah first, and everyone gasped at my sister's apparent beauty. They were all dressed in a knee-length gold dress with a purple sash around it. Leah looked awesome, and this was coming from her younger brother. Rachel and Kim came next, and I saw Jared and Paul's mouthes drop. Last was Emily, and her hair was done in a way that hid her scars. Sam was glowing from where he was sitting.

Then, my imprint showed up. She was so pretty in her white flowergirl dress, that everyone "aww'ed." My eyes started to tear. She threw yellow and purple petals onto the floor, grinning up and all the attendants. The Denali and Amazonian clans' eyes widened in shock. They hadn't realized there would be another hybrid.

I wanted to run to my imprint and hold her. Her hair was done so that it looked wavy, and it was clipped away from her face with several yellow flowers. Her dark-blue eyes sparkled with delight when she saw me. I winked at her, and she giggled before running over to sit on Esme's lap.

Last, was the bride.

Rosalie began to play the familiar fanfare. Jacob stood stock still beside me, waiting for his bride to walk out of the brush. He held his breath.

Edward and Nessie emerged from the edge of the forest, and everyone stood up. When Nessie came into veiw a bit more, a collective gasp sounded from the entire group of guests.

Nessie was beautiful.

I felt a surge of love for the little girl that I considered to be my little sister as she walked out. It was long with satin draping, and crystal stones all over it that glittered brilliantly, even in the low light. She kept her hair natural, knowing how much Jake liked it like that, and it was pinned back with even more yellow and purple flowers than the flowergirl. She was blushing, trying to smile at all the guests in attendance.

Until she looked up.

She met Jacob's stare. Something changed in Nessie then, and her entire body lit up with a glow that made a tear leak out of my eye. I wiped it away. I was so happy for her that I could burst.

Our of the corner of my eye, I saw Embry's eye leak out a tear too, but for an entirely different reason. He looked away, pain filling each and every crevice of his face. I made eye contact with my sister, who was watching Embry with a curious expression. Her shoulder moved a fraction of an inch in a shrug. She didn't know what his issue was either.

Nessie finally made her way up to the alter. Carlisle was acting as the minister of the ceremony, and he was staring at Nessie with pride.

"Who presents this woman for marriage?" Carlisle asked, in a clear, resounding voice.

"I do," Edward said gruffly.

Nessie went to leave his grasp, but Edward couldn't do it. He was holding onto his daughter tightly, seemingly frozen. She turned to look at her father with sad eyes.

"Daddy," she whispered, "You can let me go now."

It took more pain than was probably necessary to let go of his daughter's hand, but he did. This was it. Nessie was ending the chapter of her life as Renesmee Cullen. When she walked away from this, she would be known as Nessie Black. Edward glanced at Jacob with an earnest expression.

"I know you'll love her for the rest of your life, Jacob. I trust you with that," Edward said, even sparing him a small smile. Jacob grinned at him back.

Carlisle started the ceremony like he had done it five hundred times before. Jacob and Nessie said heartfelt vows, and they didn't take their eyes off each other the entire time.

"Do you, Jacob Ephraim Black, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

His answering grin was blinding. "I do."

"And do you, Renesmee Carlie Cullen, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

She smiled brightly at her grandfather. "You know I do."

Carlisle smiled. "Then I pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Nessie exuberantly threw her arms around Jacob's neck and kissed him with all she had. He lifted her a little off the ground and swung her around joyously.

Everyone laughed and cheered when he put her down. They both looked breathless and extremely happy.

"I now give you Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Black!"

Jacob and Nessie ran arm-in-arm down the aisle, with seemingly permanent smiles glued to their faces. Next, it was the bridal party's turn. I took Leah's arm, and with everyone else following, we walked down the aisle.

We all loaded up in the limo. That is, everyone except for Embry. Embry was M.I.A. for the time being.

"SETH!" my favorite voice screamed, running headlong down to the limo.

Sera launched herself in my arms, and I snuggled her tightly.

"Can I ride back with you?" she murmured into my chest.

"Do you need to even ask? Of course you can!" I pulled her into my lap and shut the car door.

"HIT IT!" Leah screamed to the driver, laughing her ass off.

_Yeah, aha, you know what it is,_

_Black and yellow, black and yellow black and yellow black and yellow black and yellow,_

_Yeah, aha, you know what it is,_

_Black and yellow, black and yellow black and yellow black and yellow black and yellow,_

_Yeah, aha, you know what it is,_

_Everything I do, I do it big,_

_Yeah, aha, screamin' that's nothin',_

_When I pull out the lot, that's stuntin',_

_Put it down, when you see me you know everything,_

_Black and yellow black and yellow black and yellow black and yellow_

_I put it down from my whip to my diamonds,_

_I'm in black and yellow black and yellow black and yellow black and yellow_

Leah and Kim started rap battling each other with the verses. The sight was so funny that I had tears rolling down my face. Collin cracked open a bottle of Vodka, and we were currently sipping right off of it.

"Can I try some?" Sera asked innocently when I took a swing. I almost coughed it back up.

Her big doe eyes made my insides tremble. "Sorry, Sera. I can't."

"Aw, c'mon Seth! Give the kid a taste," Rachel said, pulling the bottle out of my hands and taking her own swing.

Before I had a chance to stop it, Sera jumped off my lap and was walking over to Rachel.

"Rachel, I don't think-" I started, feeling my anxiety rise.

Rachel plunged her finger in the bottle of Vodka and pulled out a drop of it. She positioned her finger near Sera's mouth. "Don't bite me, okay?"

She nodded and her mouth wrapped around Rachel's finger. I watched on, extremely nervous.

Rachel pulled out her finger in one piece. Sera tasted in for a second, and she closed her eyes.

"It's..._good,_" she said in awe. I groaned and threw my head in my hands.

"Jasper is going to kill me," I moaned.

"Oh, stop being a pansy, Seth," said Leah, watching Sera with amusement, "Every kid has tried their parents' drinks at least once before they turned 21. Don't freak out."

I shook my head when Rachel put another drop of Vodka in Sera's mouth.

"You're going to have a little rebel when you're older," Kim commented happily.

"Okay, Sera. Let's stop before you get me in copious amounts of trouble," I grumbled. Sera skipped back over to me.

"Thanks, Seth," she whispered in my ear as she got resituated.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Let's just hope we're not getting a preview to your teenage years, Seraphina. Jasper will never let you out of the house again."

"Daddy lets me do whatever I want," she said smugly.

I barked a laugh. "We'll see how well that holds up in a couple of years."

We arrived back at the Cullen's house before everyone else. We all went upstairs to clean up a bit and prepare for the reception.

Almost immediately after we arrived, people started pouring into the Cullen's house. Nessie had requested the reception be as fun as possible, with only slow songs at the beginning and the end. It would be a _party. _The perfect way to end her childhood, a party in the house she grew up in.

Before the dancing, we all had a meal, and people all took turns talking about the bride and groom. Edward went up, telling Nessie how beautiful she was and if Jacob ever hurt her, he would have a specialty ass-whooping in store. Bella went up, and started sobbing about how her best friend and her daughter were getting married, and her little girl was growing up. Alice had to hop on the stage and cart her away. Emmett made a couple of sexual innuendos during his speech. Quil went up telling Nessie that she looked hot, and that Jacob was going to be the happiest man alive. I went up last, and mine was straight to the point.

"Hey, everyone," I said good-naturedly. A couple people laughed. "I just wanted to say how proud I am of these two. Jacob was my role model growing up. Looking back on it now, I can't see what I ever saw in him," I joked, and everyone laughed. Jacob flipped me off and grinned. "Jacob, you're one of my best friends. You've always had my back, no matter what stupid mistakes I've made. I'm pretty sure you've driven me home a couple of times after I got wasted, or helped me bail myself out of trouble with girls, or anyone really." More laughing. "Nessie, you're my little sister. I watched you grow from a cute little girl to a beautiful woman. You've always been there for me, and I'll always have you and your husband's back, no matter what life throws at the two of you. I wish you all the happiness in the world, because you two definitely deserve it."

I grinned at the both of them, and Nessie's cheeks had tears streaming down them. She shot out of her chair and flung herself at me, hugging me tightly. She kissed my cheek and pulled back.

"I love you, Seth," she said, hugging me tighter around my waist.

I chuckled. "I love you too, kid. Now go raise hell with your husband." She giggled and let me go, returning to her seat with Jacob.

"Now that's over with," I said, feeling my mischevious smile grow on my face, "Let's get this party started!"

Before the _real _party started, Nessie and Jacob got up for the first dance. They danced to "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri.

_Heartbeats fast,_

_Colors and promises,_

_How to be brave,_

_How can I love when I'm afraid to fall,_

_But watching you stand alone,_

_All of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow,_

_One step closer,_

_I have died every day waiting for you,_

_Darling don't be afraid, I have loved you for a thousand years,_

_I love you for a thousand more.._

_Time stands still,_

_Beauty in all she is,_

_I will be brave,_

_I will not let anything take away,_

_From what's standing in front of me,_

_Every breath,_

_Every hour has come to this,_

_One step closer,_

_I have died everyday waiting for you,_

_Darling don't be afraid,_

_I have loved you for a thousand years,_

_I love you for a thousand more,_

_And all along I believed I would find you,_

_Time has brought your heart to me,_

_I have loved you for a thousand years,_

_I love you for a thousand more..._

_One step closer,_

_One step closer,_

_I have died every day waiting for you,_

_Darling don't be afraid, I have loved you for a thousand years,_

_I love you for a thousand more,_

_And all along I believed I would find you,_

_Time has brought your heart to me,_

_I have loved you for a thousand years,_

_I love you for a thousand more._

Nessie and Jake clung to each other tightly after the dance was over. With my wolf hearing, I picked up what he said.

"I love you, Nessie Black."

Leah, who was sitting beside me, said, "Awwwww." Lucas was sitting on her lap, and Leah was cooing at him and playing peek-a-boo. I smiled. A movement in the corner caught my eye.

Embry was standing in the shadows with a bottle of tequila in his hand. He was drinking straight out of the bottle.

I shook my head. His behavior was ridiculous. I walked along the edge of the party while Nessie and Edward were having their father-daughter dance, and I reached Embry.

His eyes were red-rimmed. He had been crying. His hair was a mess with leaves potruding out of it, and his pant leg was torn at the bottom.

"Dude, what happened?" I asked incredulously.

"Does it matter?" he grumbled, taking a swing of tequila. He was staring off into space.

"Stop that!" I hissed, "This is your best friend's wedding-"

"He doesn't want me here anyways."

I was taken aback. "What are you talking about?"

"He yelled at me earlier for being such a sorry ass. Not like I can do much about it."

"Well, why don't you take his advice and _stop _being a sorry ass-"

"Of course, you would take his side," he snapped.

"_What the fuck are you talking about?_" I growled. Embry was getting on my nerves, and it took a lot to do that.

"I'm talking about this wedding!" he snapped, and he lolled dangerously.

I snatched the bottle of tequila from his hands and went to go put it away. He started complaining.

"Hey, that's mine!"

"Not anymore."

"Dude, do you have any idea how much I need that?" he said, pleading.

"Show me," I simply said.

He stared at me for a second before sighing. "Come outside."

I followed him out into the familiar woods. When we were some ways away, We both started stripping off our clothes.

The minute I phased, I almost regretted it.

Pain. Excrutiating pain was what I was bombarded with. It was so bad that I let out a little whine. Embry just hung his head.

I saw pictures of Nessie. Her growing up, her calling him "Em," which he loved, but then asking him to hold something for her while she went off to go play with Jake.

The way her hair shined in the sun. It was like a halo. The way her brown eyes sparkled when she laughed. How beautiful she looked when she was talking animatedly about things that she loved.

The way she lit up when she was talking about Jake. How much it hurt watching them be so happy.

More pain.

_Oh, _was all I could say.

_Don't you see, Seth? _he screamed, _I love Renesmee Cullen, but now she's Nessie Black, and she's in there extremely happy. Because of him._

I got bombarded with more images. Jake and Nessie went cliff diving the other day. He was watching from the shadows as she jumped off the top of the cliff with her small bikini. He thought he saw an angel with the way she glowed in the sun on the way down. But then her head broke the water and called Jake down, and he watched in pure pain as he did just that...

Jacob got to the bottom, and Nessie, to Embry's horror, started seducing him. They started making out. They started having sex. The agony that was ricocheting through Embry's body was unreal, being played back.

_Embry, _I whispered.

_I'm so fucked up. I'm in love with an imprint. The worst part about it is knowing thaat as much as I want her to be mine, I don't have a snowball's chance in hell of making her as happy as he does, even if he's a shitty husband. But I know he won't be, because she's his imprint. He had a claim on her to make her ridiculously happy before I even got the chance._

That stirred up memories of before. When he first met Bella, he thought she was extremely attractive. But he watched as she barely glaced at Quil and him, but looked at Jacob like he was her own personal sun. That stirred up feelings of jealousy towards Jacob for the first time in his life.

_Jealousy, _he snorted, _That doesn't even cover it. He has everything I want. How would you feel if you're always coming in second place to your best friend? And he has a claim on the girl I love I could only dream of having. He imprinted on her. That's something that I could not only compete with, but it's also against tribal law if I even try. _He laughed sarcastically at the thought.

_You'll find her one day, you know, _I told him, _Your imprint._

_Ha, oh yeah, which explains why I've been a wolf for six years now, and I haven't even came close. _He shook his head and looked away from me.

_I've been a wolf as long as you, you know, and I just recently found my imprint, _I reminded him. I thought of how Sera made me so happy. If he could find his other half, he wouldn't be so strung up on Nessie.

_Whatever, Seth. You have your happy ending, but I don't. I might never find it. _Embry's heart began to hurt.

_Embry- _I started.

_Just go, Seth. I want to be miserable right now. I appreciate you trying to help, but unless Renesmee comes out here right now and tells me how madly in love she is with me, or if my imprint magically comes waltzing out of thin air, I'm not gonna be happy for awhile._

I stared at him closely. Even as a wolf, he had bags under his eyes. His face fur had giant tears streaming down it, and he looked like he hadn't eaten very well for a couple of weeks. His ribs were potruding out from his body.

_Done with the inspection? _he spat, _Just go. I think I'm going to stay out here._

Heaving a weary sigh, I phased back to human. I stood in front of his wolf form. Despite his high body temperature, he was shivering.

I placed a hand on his forehead. "I know you're going through a rough time right now, but for what it's worth- I hope you find your happy ending."

He nodded his head once, and then flinched away. I sighed again.

"Bye, Embry," I told him, and with my shoulders drooping, I walked away.

I took time getting my clothes back on. I felt Embry's burden weigh on me too, since I was his pack brother, and I knew he was in pain.

Embry's broken howl echoed in the forest.*

My feet dragged walking back into the party. I really wasn't in the mood to celebrate anymore.

I watched from a table as everyone who was once sitting down was now dancing to a fast beat in the middle of the dance floor. I saw from afar just how happy Nessie and Jake were. She was grinding up on him, and things were becoming hot and heavy fast. It would be like a slap in the face if Embry was here.

"Seth!" said a voice from the dance floor. I looked up and saw the one face that could make it all better. Sera was standing at the edge of the moving bodies that were huddled close together, watching me with confused eyes. I gave her a sad smile.

Sera walked gracefully over to me, and automatically helped herself onto my lap. I breathed in her comforting lavendar and musk scent.

"Hey, kiddo-"

"Don't 'hey kiddo' me. Tell me what's wrong." Well, gotta hand it to her. Kid got straight to the point.

I chuckled. "You know, sometimes you act freakishly old for your age."

"I thought I told you that I feel old," she said, smirking.

I raised my eyebrow. "Didn't I throw you in the ocean for that one?"

She smacked my arm. "Enough of that. You look sad. I can feel it too."

I was shocked to find out that she could already feel my emotions. Knowing I couldn't outright lie to my imprint and that she was smarter than most adults, I decided to just lay it on her."It's just...it's Embry."

"Embry?" she asked, her eyebrows furrowing together, "He's been acting differently."

"Yeah, and I found out why," I said, and my voice dropped low, "Embry's in love with Nessie."

Sera gasped and she covered her mouth with her hand. "No!"

"Yeah. He's in a lot of pain right now, Sera, and I don't know how to help him." I hung my head.

She kissed my cheek. "You're a good friend, Seth. I would know because you're my best friend. I think all Embry needs is someone to listen to him, and to be on his side."

"But look at how happy Jake and Nessie are. I can't be on his side if he's trying to tamper with soul mates," I reminded her.

Her lips pursed. "Not on his side like that, but to stick up for him. You know, if Jacob finds out. He's going to need someone to say that it's not his fault that he fell in love with her, and that he's trying to deal with it."

I stared at my imprint in awe. How someone who had the body of a four-and-a-half year old and the life experience of ten months could have so much depth was beyond me.

"...Thank you, Sera. Really, that actually helps a lot," I told her earnestly. Her face lit up.

A slow song started playing. Sera grinned at me.

"Dance with me!" she commanded. I laughed.

"Of course, anything for my best lady," I told her, and I picked her up and walked to the dance floor where all the couples were.

I began to sway with her in my arms, holding my imprint close.

"Seth, can I tell you something?" she whispered.

"Of course, kiddo."

"...I saw something. Remember that day in the plane? It was about Nessie and Jake."

"What did you see?" I asked, pulling back to look at her face. Her eyebrows furrowed.

Sera began to say something, but the DJ started saying something at the exact moment.

"I can't hear you," I told her. She must have been talking very quietly.

"Ladies and gentlemen..." the DJ was saying.

"NESSIE IS PREGNANT!" Sera yelled.

The DJ stopped what he was saying. The room got so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Sera's face blushed crimson and she hid her face in my chest. I glanced around the dancefloor. Everyone's faces were that of shock.

I lingered on Nessie and Jake. Jake looked so incredibly happy that he could burst, and Nessie's eyes filled with tears.

"WE'RE HAVING A BABY!" Jacob screamed with joy, and swung Nessie around in his arms. She threw her head back and laughed.

The room thawed out, and everyone burst into applause and congratulations. Sera glanced up at me with apologetic eyes. Only she knew that this was going to mean pain for a certain wolf.

"Oh Seth, I'm sorry..." She trailed off when her eyes settled on a certain corner of the room.

I followed her gaze. Embry was standing in the corner of the room with devestated tears in his eyes. He was shaking.

I put Sera down and ran across the room to Embry. Leah followed me.

I pushed Embry outside into the yard. He stumbled backwards, and he ripped through his clothes to become a wolf.

Embry shot off into the trees.

"Shit!" I cursed, and Leah and I chased after him, stripping our clothes off as we went.

We phased at the same time, and Leah used her Alpha connection to communicate with me.

_Where did he go? _I thought, but as I said that, I caught his scent.

Leah and I burst through the trees. Embry lay crumpled on the forest floor, human, in a feeble position, sobbing earnestly. We phased back to human and held him.

"It keeps getting worse," Embry sobbed into Leah's shoulder where she was holding him. She pretty much figured everything out for herself in that moment.

"I'm really sorry, Embry. I can empathize," Leah said honestly.

"Your boyfriend imprinted and then dumped you. I was just enough of a fool to fall in love with an imprint," he said bitterly.

Leah ran her fingers through his hair. "It sucks either way. In the end, you end up heartbroken and alone. But there's a happy ending for everyone. For a long time I thought I never would get one, but this is coming from _me, _Embry. Bitter Leah, bitchy Leah, the-one-nobody-wants Leah. You _will _find your happy ending."

Embry didn't respond, and instead settled for sobbing with earnest. I had never seen someone so broken since Sam dumped Leah.

"Seth, go inside and make sure everything is okay, and that no one is wondering where we are," Leah requested.

I felt my burden get just a bit heavier. "'Kay," I responded, and got off to run back to the party. On my way, I started picking up my strewn clothes. I just put on my slacks and my button-down shirt this time.

Sera greeted me at the door with sad eyes. "I messed up, Seth."

I picked her up and held her tightly. "You didn't mess up. You didn't know he was there, and Embry would have found out anyways."

She sighed. "I guess so."

I kissed the top of her hair, and then surveyed the room. Edward gave me a knowing look before continuing his talk with Sam and Emily. Jacob and Nessie were seated in the corner. Jacob was on his knees touching Nessie's belly with wonder, and Nessie was sitting back with a happy smile on her face. I decided to start there.

"Hey guys," I greeted, walking up to them.

"Hi," Sera said.

"Sera, Seth- hey," Jacob said happily, "Thank you for telling us Sera. This is amazing news!"

"I agree," Nessie said, beaming at her cousin, "I'm so happy you told us."

"Of course," Sera responded, but didn't comment further. I kissed her forehead.

"Congrats, man," I said, giving Jake a one-armed hug.

"Thanks. And I have to say, what made you want to scream it out, Sera?" Jake asked, chuckling.

"Seth couldn't hear me over the DJ," she said, and gave me a pinch. I flinched under her strong fingers. That would leave a mark.

"Congrats to you too, Mama Black," I joked, ducking down to kiss the top of Nessie's hair.

She laughed. "Let's just work with one new title at a time," she said, but looked immensely happy. Jacob's face was identical to hers.

"Look, I'm going to go talk to your father," I told Nessie, and I waved them bye.

When they were out of hearing distance, I said, "Ouch, that hurt, Sera!"

"Get your ears checked!" she hissed.

I rolled my eyes. "What happened to being in this together?"

She sighed and leaned her head against my chest. "Fine, you're right. Sorry I pinched you."

I chuckled. "Forgiven."

We made our way over to where Edward was standing, talking to Sam and Emily. He spotted me, and waved me over.

"Hey Seth, hey Sera," he greeted.

"Seth, I'm so worried about Embry," Emily vented, "Did you go out to go check on him? Is he okay?"

"He'll be okay, Em," I promised her, "But how many other people know that he left?"

"Not many. Sam and I saw, and so did you and Leah, and Edward knows," she said, and glanced down at Sera, "Do you know?"

Sera nodded her head.

Emily sighed. "What was the matter with him?"

I had barely opened my mouth to tell her "I wasn't quite sure," when a tray of food that Kiowa dropped fell onto the floor with a loud bang. Emily sighed.

"I'll help him clean it up. C'mon, Sam," she said, and grabbed his hand to lead him away.

"That woman is amazing," Edward said, shaking his head after her. I chuckled.

"She is. She's one of the strongest people I know," I said.

Edward sighed, deciding to cut through the bullshit. "So I guess I can say outright that I've known for awhile what's been going on with Embry," he said in a low voice.

I nodded and glanced down at Sera. "You guys also knew that Nessie was pregnant?"

Sera looked up at me with a sheepish expression. "I had a feeling that I shouldn't have said anything right then and there. Good thing too. Angry werewolves and airplanes don't mix."

I chuckled. "Good reasoning."

"Is Embry still with Leah?" Edward asked.

"Embry's with Leah?" Sera asked too. I had forgotten to tell her.

"I think so. She's not back yet. We phased after him and caught up to him. We saw him laying on the forest floor...we phased back, and Leah stayed to comfort him."

"Comfort," Sera moaned, throwing her head in her hands, "What have I done?"

"Shhh," I said, making my grip tighter around her, "Embry's strong. And like I said before, he would have found out eventually. At least he has the honeymoon to not see their happy faces while he tries to get over it. It's really a blessing, kiddo."

"Seth's right, Sera," Edward said, placing a hand on Sera's shoulder, "You're putting too much blame on yourself. It's a good thing he's finding this out now and has some time to deal with it."

Sera nodded at us, but I could still feel that she was a bit unsure. I sighed. "You're such a smart, brave girl, Sera. You were there for me tonight when I needed a friend. Now, I'm going to do the same. You've done nothing wrong, Seraphina Marie. You could _never_ do anything wrong. Embry is going to be messed up for the next couple of weeks, but it's nothing he can't get over if we all give him a little extra attention. Okay?" I kissed the top of her head.

She snuggled into my chest. "Okay."

Edward smiled at her. "Seth's right, again."

She laughed. "He knows me too well."

I was about to comment on how adult-like she sounded when Jacob and Nessie emerged in their going-away ensembles. Nessie was wearing an olive-green dress and Jake was wearing jeans and a button down t-shirt. Everyone in the room burst into applause.

"They look happy," Sera commented in my ear, clapping along with everyone else. I nodded my head in agreement. A blind man could see just how glowy and happy they were.

We followed them outside. Emmett was aiming rice with vampire speed at Jacob's back. He was shielding Nessie from most of it, and they both slid into the limosine. With the "Just Married" sign on the back window and designer shoes dangling from the back, they rolled their window down and waved at us as they drove away.

As I saw them drive away, I saw a gray and black wolf in the forest shoot in the opposite direction like his life depended on it.

* * *

><p><strong>Embry POV<strong>

Pain.

Always pain.

I shot off in the opposite direction. I needed to get anywhere but here.

_Embry, _Leah called in my head. I growled.

_Get out of my head, Leah. I need time away._

She sighed. _Call me if you need me._

_Yep. _Huh. Never seen Leah give up without a fight.

She phased back tenatively. I was all alone.

Always alone.

I ran as fast as my legs could push me. It wasn't Leah-fast, but it was pretty damn close.

Unfortunately (and that word seemed to come up a lot in my vocabulary lately), I had drank too much tequila. I could feel myself get woozy, and I had to slow down.

I plopped onto the forest floor in a pathetic heap. In times like these, I imagined my father like the father of the troublemaker from The Breakfast Club, assuming I knew him. It was a sadistic form of motivation, but it helped.

_Get up, you pathetic piece of shit. You lowlife son of a bitch-_

_I'm trying, Dad, _I thought brokenly.

_Try harder, you fucking lazy ass, _he spat at me.

But I couldn't find the energy. I was broken.

_You're not worth the semen I used to make you with. Your mother was an easy lay, but I could have shot my dick into another bitch that knew how to use a birth control pill correctly._

_Don't talk about my mother, she loves me, _I whispered with indignitation.

_Yeah right. Who could love you? _The father-voice said maliciously.

I felt my heart drop in the most painful way. _You said a mouthful, _I shot back sarcastically.

I tried to stand on shaky limbs, but I fell right back onto my stomach. I was useless.

I phased back to human, not wanting to accidentally subject my brothers to my pain-filled thoughts.

Who cared anyway?

I was broken. I was a shell of a man once named Embry Call.

Tears started rolling down my face again. Soon, tears turned to sobs.

I cried with everything I had that night.

I cried for the fact that I was in love with an imprint, my best friend's no less.

I cried because he would make her happier than I could ever dream of.

I cried because of the baby growing inside of her, Jacob's baby. The baby would make her happy too.

I cried because I could never measure up with the love and devotion those two felt for each other.

And I cried because despite all of this, I still wanted Renesmee Carlie Cullen-Black to be mine. I wanted her like I've never wanted another person in my life.

My desperate, broken sobs echoed through the empty forest, where no one would hear, or care.

It was the place where the shell of Embry Call belonged.

And that's where I would stay.

_A/N: Intense chapter. I _highly_recommend you listening to the chapter songs as well. Especially the one by Mayday Parade. It's uncanny how much it fits._

_Sorry I swerved a little bit from the essential storyline of Seth and Sera to Embry/Jake/Nessie. But they're essential to the story of Sera & Seth, because Seth and Sera working together tonight shows the changing dynamics in the relationship from younger-older siblings to that of friendship. See? Essential!_

_**Renesmee's Dress:**__** http : / media . photobucket . com/ image / wedding%20dress / lababy2993 / ?o=25 (take out the spaces).**_

_I guess that's it! (:_

_Until next time,_

_Chels._


	7. Discoveries

_A/N: This is after the wedding. I'm kinda sticking to this time frame at the moment since it is an important event in the story of Sera and Seth._

_Thank you for all your reviews, you guys. They keep me motivated. (:_

_This update wwas really fast. I updated yesterday and now today. Well, don't expect this consistency. The only reason the chapters are flying out is because my computer has been down and I've been hard at work at this story due to the rare free time I've been having._

**Chapter Song: **_Addicted_, by Saving Abel.

"_And yet, to say the truth, reason and love keep little company together nowadays."_

_~William Shakespeare_

* * *

><p><strong>Seth POV<strong>

Two weeks passed since anyone saw Embry. We hadn't tipped Jake off about it yet since he was probably a ridiculously happy man on his honeymoon, but if Embry didn't come back soon, we'd have to give him a call.

Alice told me they were in Sydney, Austrailia for their honeymoon. They were definitely too far away to be any help.

I tried phasing, getting ahold of Embry a couple of times, but the second I did, he phased back quicker than I could even formulate my thoughts together.

But I always saw a flash of the excrutiating pain he was in.

I leaned on Sera more than I ever had before during these times.

It was horrible for me to know that somewhere out there, Embry was in pain, and I couldn't do anything about it or find out where he was at least. My appetite took a hit, as well as my sleeping patterns. I had bags under my eyes, and I looked pale, even with my dark Native American skin. I began looking like a walking ghost.

"Seth, you don't look good. You didn't eat breakfast yesterday, so eat something today," Sera told me as we seated ourselves at the Cullen's dining table. We decided to stay in Forks for the time being until Nessie and Jake came back and we found Embry.

"I just don't feel good anymore," I said in a whisper, looking down at my french toast. On a normal day, I would already be halfway done with them. Now, they just looked unappetizing.

Sera got up from her seat and jumped up on my lap. I noticed how she now looked more five than four, her body more graceful and porportioned. Her hair, even though still unruly, was getting shinier and longer. She picked up my utensils and began cutting my food in bite-size pieces. She forked a piece of french toast and turned around in my lap, offering me the food with the fork she was holding in her hand.

"Really? You're going to feed me?" I asked, chuckling. She raised an eyebrow.

"This is the only way you'll eat. And besides, you fed me when I was a baby," she reminded me.

I sighed, and feeling ridiculous, I opened my mouth. She popped in the french toast with a satisfied smile on her face.

Chew, swallow. I was a machine.

"More," she said, forking more food and then putting it into my mouth.

She sighed when she saw I didn't get that instant satisfaction on my face that I always get when I eat. "You can't blame yourself," she said.

"You blame yourself," I reminded her.

She let out a huff. "Yes, but that's different! I practically caused the reason he disappeared. You've done nothing to make him sad or angry. You were there when he phased and just needed someone. And I-I..." To her displeasure, a tear rolled down her face.

"Oh, honey," I murmured, wrapping my arms around her. I felt another tear fall onto my arm.

"I wish I could apologize," Sera whispered.

"He knows you didn't mean it."

"How would you know? He always phases back to a person before any of you would reach him!" In her little ball of anger, she stabbed the table with the fork. The teeth slid in about halfway.

Her mouth dropped. "Wow, I'm strong," she murmured.

I chuckled at her. "I've known that for awhile." I grabbed its handle and pulled it out of the table with one tug.

Sighing, she took the utensil from my hand and forked more food, putting more into my mouth. "I still want to apologize to him. I hate feeling like Quil has to join our pack for the time being to keep an eye on Embry, and help you out."

"We're all going through a rough time right now, Sera."

"That I caused."

"Listen to me, Seraphina. Nothing you said or did would have made Embry better, or not find out eventually. He's in the same pack with Jacob. When we're in wolf form, we share thoughts, and _he would have found out eventually. _Please stop blaming yourself. I can't stand it," I told her, my eyes wide and begging.

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Jake needs to come home."

"I agree, but he's on his honeymoon-"

"For Nessie's sake."

"Huh?"

She sighed, and looked out the window. "She's been pregnant for two weeks now. That means that she might be showing. I had a vision about the baby. The baby is more vampire than werewolf. It'll chew its way out-"

"Have you told Carlisle this?" I asked her, already pulling away from the table.

"I just woke up. I just had this dream," she reminded me.

With the food forgotten, I set her down on the ground and reached for my cell phone. Frantically, with fumbling fingers, I made a call to the doc in less than thirty seconds after she told me this. "Carlisle, its Seth. Sera had a dream last night that Ness has a bun in the oven, and the baby growing inside her is more vampire than werewolf. Which means that it's going to _chew its way out. _Now, I didn't ask for specifics from Sera, but if it's anything like I saw in Jake's mind when Bella was giving birth, Nessie needs to come home. Now."

"Sera saw the actual process of the baby ripping its way out?" Carlisle gasped.

I glanced down at my imprint, and for the first time noticed the dark circles under her eyes. She definitely would not be looking like this if the dream was pleasant. "She did."

"I'm calling Nessie right away," he said, and hung up the phone.

I bent down to pick up Sera. She was swaying side-to-side with exaustion. "You didn't get much sleep, did you?"

She shook her head. "It was a bad dream. But you were starving yourself. And the others were out hunting, and you were the only person I could tell-"

I kissed her head. "You don't have to protect me. I understand your worry, but your visions are too important to take precedence over my eating habits."

She sighed. "You're right. But it was a bad dream."

"Sounds like it." I kissed her hair.

"What's bad is knowing that those bad dreams might come true."

I hadn't thought about it that way, but then I had an overpowering urge to protect Sera from her nightmares. "We won't let anything bad happen, I promise."

The others came in through the back door with expressions of worry. "They're on their way home. Nessie's showing a lot already. They were betting that because of Nessie's strong body and Jake's human genes, it would be born normally. And apparently, they were too caught up in their honeymoon for it to occur to them to call us," Carlisle shook his head and chuckled a little bit, "I guess we can owe Sera's dreams to saving Nessie's life." Carlisle walked over and kissed Sera's cheek.

"My granddaughters are such strong girls," he said, smiling at Sera. Sera beamed and reached out for her granddfather. Carlisle took her in his arms.

"Grandpa, it was a bad dream. They have to get home," Sera said seriously.

"I understand, angel. We'll do everything in our power to save her life." Handing Sera to Bella, he, Edward, Japser, Emmett, Rosalie, and Alice went upstairs to set up the medical equipment. Bella took Sera to the couch, and I followed.

"Thank you, Sera. We would all give up our lives to save each other, but you saved my daughter's life. I love you. Thank you." She kissed Sera's cheek.

"You're welcome, Aunt Bella." Sera wrapped her arms around Bella's neck.

She chuckled. "I've missed this, you know. Nessie was more independent than any other person I have ever met. All she wanted to do was act like a mad woman and run around everywhere half-naked with Jake." She chuckled at the memories of her showing up well past dark with mud matted in her hair, and her clothes torn and ripped, smiling like crazy.

Sera laughed. "I can be a mad woman too."

My eyes bugged with worry. "Please don't," I told her.

She smiled mischeviously. "No promises."

This little girl would be the death of me. "At least, if you're gonna go crazy, make sure I'm there to protect you."

Sera rolled her eyes but smiled. "Deal."

Bella laughed at her niece, and Alice and Jasper emerged downstairs. Alice danced over and picked up her daughter.

"I'm going to go see if my husband needs me," Bella said, and giving me a wink, she darted up the stairs.

Alice sat down next to me with Sera in her arms. "You are such a brave, smart girl. I want you to know that not all of your dreams are going to be good ones, but your dreams have been pleasant enough, thanks to your extremely overprotective family and your personal bodyguard, Seth." Alice grinned at me. "But that doesn't mean that the good ones are any less important. I found that out when the Volturi came to visit us all those years ago."

"Darlin', you're everything to us. You're such a clever girl, and you're so full of life. I think you've realized that part of being a Cullen is always having each other's backs, especially when times get rough. You're a true Cullen," Jasper told her daughter, and kissed her cheek.

He turned to look at me. "Seth, I know I had my reservations in the beginning, but you've protected my daughter like she was your own life. Sometimes, you've done it even better than I could. Thank you."

Jasper turned and gave Alice a look. They seemed to disagree about something.

"Seth, can I talk to you?" Alice asked, giving Jasper a little glare. He sighed and slumped.

"Um, sure Alice." I got up and walked outside out of earshot.

"Yeah?" I asked.

She got straight to the point. "Sera asked me what imprinting was the other day."

I took a step back. "Did she?"

Alice nodded and looked in the direction of the house. "I didn't tell her what it was. I just said it's something that a wolf does. She's been asking me about it constantly. Now, from what I've seen with Jacob and Nessie, if you wait until she's older to tell her, that causes more issues than what it's actually worth. So...tell her."

"Wait, really?" My eyes had to be bugging out of my head.

"Don't say anything about the soul mates though. Leave that part to her. But tell her you imprinted on her, at least."

"Does she have any idea what imprinting is?" I asked Alice.

"All she knows is that it's some form of connection. And she also knows Embry was tossing that word around a lot when he talked about Jake and Nessie..."

"I see," I muttered.

"Yeah, so...tell her. Just nothing about soul mates," she repeated.

"I understand," I said, feeling my stomach knot over and over again.

How would I do this? It wasn't exactly your everyday conversation. _Hey kiddo, you and I are connected for life! How 'bout it? _No. Definitely not. It wasn't something I could just underplay, and then when she's older, drop the bomb on her that we are, in fact, soul mates, even though I can't imagine ever seeing her like that. If I had no previous experience on the subject, I would just say Sera and I were destined to be platonic forever, and I would be a happy man. But Jake's experience proved otherwise. I could only just count down the days until nothing made sense anymore.

But still. I knew the reason for imprinting. Throw in your other half, some gibberish about making stronger wolves, and _vi__ó__la! _You got the "true definition" of imprinting.

But only imprinted wolves knew it was much more than that. Way more. It was about being so completely connected to someone that it was literally essential to your survival if that person was happy or not. And that was only scratching the surface.

It was about literally being another half of someone. It was crazy how well Sera already knew me, how well she could pick up on my emotions or thoughts, and she was only a little kid. And our bond was only getting stronger and stronger.

If only they gave wolves manuals on how to tell their imprints this shit.

I knew that Sera would find out eventually though, through her uncanny visions or just simply thinking it out, which I knew she was more than smart enough for. And again, that would cause problems.

Of course, I got the uncannily smart imprint with a temper. Not that I was complaining, it's a bit shocking to have an eleven-month old child be so many steps ahead of you at any given time.

I pondered this over as I walked back to the house. I caught a glint of Sera's raven hair, and I walked to where she was.

Sera was sitting on Jasper's lap, listening to him talk about the Civil War. When he saw me walk in, he eyed me knowingly.

"Okay, Seraphina. I'm going to let you two talk." Jasper sat Seraphina on the couch. He walked over to me. "Seth, Alice and I don't exactly see eye to eye on this. I think you should wait. Whatever you decide..." He trailed off, and giving me another meaningful look, he walked away.

"What's wrong, Seth?" Sera asked from the couch, eyeing me. I gave her a half-smile.

"Nothing, kiddo. I just got something to tell you." I walked over and sat next to her on the couch. Her dark blue eyes were trained on mine.

"I hear that you know what imprinting is." Straight to the point.

Sera shook her head. "I've heard the term before. I know it's something wolves do, and I know that Jacob has done it with Nessie. But that's all."

"Well, they're not the only ones. Sam had done it with Emily, Jared with Kim, Quil with Claire, Paul with Rachel, Collin with Darcy, Leah with Lucas...I've done it too." I gave her a smile.

"Who have you done it with?" Sera asked, her eyes big.

"Tell me, intelligent one," I told her, "Who do I spend most of my time with?"

She blinked a couple of times before the realization set in. "Me?"

"Yes" was all I said.

"...Well, what is it?" she asked, cocking her head to the side like a puppy. This was the hard part.

"Imprinting is...it's when a wolf sees that one person. And not just any person, because to the wolf, gravity shifts. Now, this person is holding you to the earth. When you're an imprint, your wolf would be anything and do anything for you. Whether you needed a brother, or a friend, or a protector...so on."

"And you've done it to me." She said it as a statement.

"Imprinted, yes."

She stayed quiet. I figeted nervously in my seat as she gave me a steady, inquisitive look. Her dark eyes took me in.

"Imprinted," she repeated, in a voice no louder than a whisper.

"Imprinted," I responded with more strength.

She continued her gaze. From what I could feel off of her, she was fairly calm. Yet her dark-eyes seemed to shake me up and stir me around.

"Sera, tell me what you're thinking," I begged.

Her eyebrows furrowed. "I was trying to make sense of it."

"What do you need help with?" I asked.

She turned her gaze out the window. "When did you imprint on me?"

"The first time I saw you. You were a day old. That's the only time you can imprint on someone, when you first see them. If you don't imprint on them the first time, you'll never imprint on them."

"I remember that day," she said.

"I'm glad you do. What did I look like?"

"You looked like...you had seen a ghost."

I chuckled. "More like an angel, honey."

She nodded and smiled a little bit, but didn't meet my eyes.

She thought for a few more moments. "Was it forced?"

"What? No! I mean, when that person is the right person, it just kinda hits you, so in a way, it chooses you. But I don't regret it, Seraphina. Like I said, I would do anything for you," I told her honestly.

That's what I didn't get. When Jacob told Nessie about the imprint, she thought it was forced upon him and she ran away for three weeks. To say Jake was a mess would be an understatement. When she finally came to her senses about the fact that they were _soul mates, _and the imprint just showed them that, she came home.

"But you didn't necessarily choose me," Sera responded, meeting my eyes with a passion I had never seen before stirring in them.

"Do you mean, did I walk down an aisle in a store and pick you out beforehand, no I didn't. Did I have any clue at all that I would imprint? Hell no. Did I know it'd be you? Hell no. But I did, and it was you. It was always supposed to be you. Just remember that. Even before I knew that it was supposed to be you, _it was always you._"

"So you didn't know when or who you would imprint on, but you saw me and that was it. It came out of nowhere."

"Yeah, pretty much."

"You just admitted to not having a choice," Sera said despondently, a tear rolling down her face. I leaned to wipe it away, but she jerked away from me. My hand fell limply to my side.

"_There was no choice,_" she growled. I was taken aback.

"Sera, listen to me. You may think that, but that's not the case. Even if I wasn't a wolf, I would have still found you eventually because you were the one all along. Imprints just show you who it is faster, that's all."

She slumped, defeated in her seat. "I want to give you a choice."

"If you gave me a choice Sera, I would choose you every time. That is a promise." I held out my pinky.

She stared at it for a moment before meeting my eyes again. "Are you sure? It doesn't sound like you have much of a choice right now."

"I'm as sure as life itself. Trust me, it's a promise I can definitely keep. It's my choice. I could have denied my imprint, you know. But why would I do that? Is it really so bad to have someone live and die for you? Because it's definitely not bad for me."

She seemed unsure about what to think, but she eventually decided to trust me. She looped her small pinky in mine, almost grudgingly, but I nudged her. She looked up at me with sad eyes. "There's a reason you came into this life, Sera. You're my imprint. You don't need to ever worry about being alone again. Even if you don't want me, I'll stalk you." I grinned triumphantly.

She laughed. "Why would I not want you? You're my best friend." As she said this, she seemed almost saddened at this idea. I poked her tickle spot, and she thawed right out. I grinned at her.

"You're mine too."

"Okay, I have another question," she said, and this time, looked down at her hands. "Sam and Emily, Jared and Kim, even Nessie and Jake...they're all together. If Claire grew up and wanted Quil to be her husband, would he be?"

"Yes," I answered honestly. "If that's what Claire wanted, and they were in love, well...they were supposed to be together from the beginning, right?"

"And Lucas and Leah?" she pressed.

"When Lucas grows up, he might pursue Leah. And if he does, Leah would only too-happily exchange his feelings." I didn't want to think about that particular "pursuing," especially with my sister. It was bad enough knowing Leah and Sam had sex.

I should have probably seen where this was going, but I was still blindsided when she said, "And you and I?"

My hands dropped. "If that's what you wanted," I answered honestly. I couldn't lie to my imprint. Well, I mean, technically I could, but I could also cut off my arm if I wanted to. Would it hurt? Hell yeah. Would I want to do that? I'd pass. Lying to your imprint was the same concept.

"But we're just best friends," she stated, taking my huge hand in her small one. I smiled.

"We are best friends. Forever and ever," I told her.

She grinned. "Forever. We don't need to get married. We can run away and live on the beach or something," she said.

That would be interesting if we lived on the beach just like my dream. My life would officially be awesome. "Okay, when you grow up, we'll live on the beach."

"In La Push though. I want to live right on First Beach," she said, grinning.

"Ooh, that will be a tough one to swing. But who knows? It could happen," I told her, "Besides...between you and me, I have friends on the Elder Council, and my sister is the Alpha."

"Leah? No way!" she said, laughing.

"I think if we begged enough, she'd let us," I confided.

Sera threw her arms around me. "Thank you, Seth."

"You're welcome kiddo."

* * *

><p>Later, Jasper and Alice asked me to put Sera to bed, since they were going to go out of town for the weekend. I, of course, consented, but Jasper was a bit cooler to me than usual. But I mean, Alice's thinking was fool proof. Waiting to say anything about imprinting just caused problems.<p>

I was sitting on the couch, watching TV with Sera on my lap, but she was getting tired. Her face started getting the blinky-eyed expression.

"C'mon, let's go to bed," I told her, picking her small frame up in my arms.

She was half-asleep by the time we got upstairs. She didn't have her own room like she did in the house back in Idaho, so she just slept in her parent's bed. I tucked her into the luxurious sheets.

"You know, Seth," she murmured sleepily, "I wouldn't mind marrying you. That way, we could really be best friends forever."

I forgot that she was still a little kid at times. It was obvious at times like these that there were many more things she had to learn about life, especially since she thought that best friends got married to stay best friends forever. I chuckled. "Sure, kiddo. Anything you want."

"Love you," she said tiredly. I kissed the top of her head.

"Love you too, Seraphina."

I could have stayed there like that, watching her sleep like the little angel she was, but I had to find my lost brother.

I had to find him, especially before Jacob came home. I _had _to find Embry.

At midnight, I stole out into the forest that I knew like the back of my hand. I was wearing nothing but some boxers. I stripped and tied them to my ankle before I phased.

I kept a low profile. I made sure my thoughts weren't loud, so that you wouldn't know if I was there if he was distracted. I seemed to be in luck that night- I felt Embry's presence through his dreams. Or rather, his existance. He was barely holding on.

I could tell from the hunger pains that he was feeling that he was emaciated. He wasn't eating. He was just waiting to die.

I pushed down all the emotions I was feeling, and focused on nothing but the forest. I would need to sneak up on him.

I couldn't figure out where he was, but I could follow the connection with our telepathy. The moon was shining overhead, full, and that gave me enough light in the forest to lead the way.

Embry was pretty far away, my connection told me that much. I dug my claws into the ground and ran faster than I ever had in my life.

_Run, run, run, forest, animal, green, faster, _was all I let myself think. I was keeping as low of a profile as I could muster.

I felt my telepathy get stronger. I was getting closer.

I could smell him now. He smelled like...Embry, but if Embry was also rotting slowly. It wasn't a good smell.

My legs ached. I had never pushed myself to run this hard.

I felt a stir in his thoughts. He felt my appraoching. But he couldn't realize what was happening in time before I shot through the trees, and ran to his side.

_Embry! _I rejoiced. He was alive.

But barely.

His ribs were prominent. He looked sickly and emaciated, and even through all of his ailments, I could still feel pain. It was the strongest thing about him at the present moment.

_Seth? _Even his mind couldn't formulate anything louder than a whisper.

_Phase back dude, you're going to die if you stay like this, _I commanded.

_Ha, as if dying if the worst thing that could happen to me, _he muttered sarcastically.

That son of a bitch. There was no way that I was going to let him die on the forest floor. But knowing Embry, he wouldn't listen to me without an Alpha command.

I would have to take charge.

_As the true Alpha's Beta, I command you to get up, Embry Call! _I felt power ring through my words. I guess that settled the Beta issue when it came to Jacob's pack. Besides, I was a Clearwater. I had three werewolf lines to boast in my name. Without Jacob, I would have the best claim to the Alpha power anyways. Leah already upheld hers.

Embry didn't have a choice. With shaking limbs, he struggled up. He was very weak.

_Phase back, _I told him in the same voice.

Embry phased. Usually, we could phase back and forth without any drain to our energy. But Embry was so weak that whatever energy he had been saving up was long gone now. He phased, and fell to his knees.

I phased back too and immediately began to tend to him. "Fuck, Embry. You look like you've gone to hell and back."

Whatever he looked like as a wolf was magnified as a human. His skin was gray. His eyes had no spark in them.

He might as well have been a walking zombie.

"We need to get you home. I'm giving you my boxers," I took them off and handed it to him, "and you're going to ride on my back to the Cullen's. We _have _to get you to see Carlisle."

Embry did not have the energy to fight me anymore. Everything about him was weak.

Embry was going to die.

I didn't waste any time. Embry could barely reach up to take the boxers from me, let alone put them on himself. Normally, I would have had an objection because I was a hetero dude, but this man was seriously ill. I slipped them on myself.

I phased into a wolf. Embry slowly but miraculously climbed onto my back. Trying to keep my gait as smooth as possible, I shot off into the woods.

Embry was groaning on my back. His breathing was labored. He had gone on so long without nutrition, I thanked whatever gods that made him a wolf, because if he was human, he would have been long dead by now.

_C'mon Seth, faster, don't let him die, _I pleaded with myself, willing my legs to move even faster than before. But this time, I didn't feel any pain. I had one objective, and that was to make sure Embry Call lived.

I could feel the Cullen's proximity. I assumed Edward could hear me. _Edward, if you can hear me, make sure that Carlisle's in. I have Embry. He's going to die if someone doesn't help him._

With that thought, I raced forward, my only hope being that Embry didn't die on me.

Thankfully, Edward did hear me. He was standing at the front door with Carlisle in hand. I stopped my movement, and Edward and Carlisle raced over to me, pulling Embry off my shoulders.

Embry had passed out on my back. His heartbeat was barely audible. I could see every bone in his body.

"Save him," was all I said as they carted him inside. I followed shortly afterwards.

Using Nessie's medical equipment set up in the office, Carlisle immediately hooked him up to an IV and a tube that would pump much needed nutrition into his body.

"How long has he been without food?" Edward asked, surveying the skeleton before him.

"Longer than he should have," I replied, feeling my knees get a little shaky.

"He's very dehydrated," Carlisle said, working over him.

Edward sighed, looking down at Embry. "There's not much I can do. Carlisle's got him covered. Let's go, Seth, we'll find you some clothing." Edward led me out of the room and into Emmett's room. He pulled out a t-shirt and a pair of shorts that looked pretty close to my size.

"I hope these clothes work. You clothes at home probably smell better," he said apologetically as I slipped on my pants.

"I'm not being picky right now," I said, "Although I wouldn't have an objection either way. I've been with you guys so much that I barely notice the smell anymore."

"As have I, Seth," Edward said, giving me a crooked grin.

I sighed, looking in Embry's direction. _Will he be okay? _I thought.

"I can't say for sure. In my personal opinion, if you hadn't found him, tonight would have probably been his last night."

I shook my head. "Dumbshit."

Edward chuckled. "I'm not used to the Seth that cusses now. Where did this come from?" he teased.

"Yeah, well. When you listen to Embry's sarcasm all day long, you pick up a few things. Hey, I might even end up with a few gray hairs on my head after tonight."

Edward chuckled. "You're still optimistic Seth though."

"That I am. Can't get rid of me that fast," I joked.

"You're a good match for Sera, you know," he said out of no where. I raised my eyebrow.

"I know that seems out of no where, but I see the way you are with her. She acts old for her age."

I rolled my eyes, but my heart expanded talking about my imprint. She was my favorite subject. "That I know. It's a bit surreal at times. Sometimes I have to do a double take and tell myself she isn't even a year old yet. Sometimes, she acts like she's four, and at other times, she acts like she's forty. She's got a lot of depth."

"I agree with you. I think it's because of all her visions," he commented.

"What does she dream of?" I asked curiously.

"You, mostly. You're right up there with her parents as her favorite people. She's also been dreaming of Nessie a lot more, and now, Embry. She also sees different people's decisions that might affect the family. For instance, she dreams of the Denalis, because they're our cousins and they're due for a visit soon."

"Huh. But no nightmares?" I had to ask. I had to protect her.

Edward chuckled. "She rarely ever has bad dreams. The first real one was the other night when she dreamed of Nessie being, well..." Edward flinched.

"That graphic, huh?" I asked.

"It was uncanny. Even Alice's visions don't get that detailed."

I felt a lump rise in my throat. "Poor girl."

"You see, when you just automatically know everything, you don't have much of a chance to be a kid. You make her a kid, Seth."

I scratched my forehead. "It's all I want for her. I want her to be as much of a kid as possible. I could only imagine being in her position. She could never have a normal dream, and she's constantly surrounded by the fact that if she has a bad one, it could become a reality. That's got to be hard. But I'm going to protect her. No matter what."

"She needs that. Because even though she acts like she's forty, she's got a twenty-one-year-old in there rearing its head. She's got quite the wild streak."

I face-palmed myself. "Tell me something I don't know. I'm going to have my hands full when she gets older."

Edward chuckled. "I pity you. Nessie had her fair share of wild moments."

Nessie was the definiton of a wild child back way when. She was responsible, but that only helped out with the fact that she could get away with not getting caught. Jacob and Edward probably wore a permanent hole in the carpet from pacing so much after all the late night parties and several boyfriends she possessed. I don't think Jake was the only one relieved when Ness finally came to her senses about her best friend was the one she wanted all along.

"Ugh, don't remind me," Edward said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

I chuckled, and heared Carlisle walk into the room. "He's stable now. He's asleep for the time being, but still weak. Even with his advanced healing, he's gonna need a couple days on the IV and lots of nourishment."

"I don't understand why he has a sudden death wish. I mean, he's in love with Nessie, but he shouldn't kill himself over it." For the life of me, even though I spend hours a day in his mind, I will not ever begin to understand Embry Call.

"I think the biggest sickness he is suffering from right now is a broken heart. His eyes...they're lifeless." Carlisle shuddered.

"He's in agony right now," Edward whispered, "I know the feeling."

"I wish there was some way I could help him. Embry's in critical condition right now, but when Ness gets home, how are we going to manuver the two of them around each other? Nessie's obviously gonna be a little bit more important, but Embry almost died tonight. He can't do anything for awhile either," I said, trying to mull this over, figuring out a way they could be around each other without bringing Embry suffering.

"Does he know about Nessie?" Carlisle asked.

"No. I don't know if we should tell him."

"Maybe..." Edward said, but trailed off at the last second. "Never mind."

"Just say it, Edward," I pressed.

He sighed. "Maybe Seraphina could tell him, since it was her vision. But Embry's unstable right now, and that would put Sera in danger..."

"I agree. We have to leave Sera out of this," I immediately said.

"Leave me out of what?"

Our eyes snapped to where Sera was standing in the doorway. She was still in her nightgown, with her eyes puffy and her hair wild. She was holding in her hand Remus, the stuffed wolf I gave her for her six-month birthday. It matched my fur perfectly. I smiled at her.

"What are you doing up, Sera? Couldn't sleep?" I asked, and I held my arms out for her. She immediately bounded into them.

"I heard Aunt Rose and Mommy arguing downstairs about what to do when Nessie comes home, because Embry is here too," she said, looking at Carlisle, "Is Embry here?"

"Yes, darling, he just fell asleep."

"How did he find his way back?" she asked.

Carlisle smiled at her. "Seth went out to find him. Good thing too. Embry was about to die. He was very malnourished, and weak."

"You found him?" Sera asked, staring at me with big eyes.

"I did."

Sera kissed my cheek. "You saved his life."

I blushed a bit. "No big deal," I muttered. Edward laughed at me.

Sera giggled. "Yeah right, you're just being bashful."

"Whatever you say, Smartie," I said.

She giggled again. "So what do you want to leave me out of?"

I sighed. "Edward thought it would be a good idea if you told Embry about the vision of Nessie, since it was your vision, but-"

"I'll do it," she said suddenly.

"Nope. Absolutely not."

"Why?" Sera whined.

"Because, he's too unstable right now. I'm not having you within one hundred feet of him just in case he phases, let alone in the same room." My eyes dared her to differ.

She glared at me a little. "Why do you have to be so protective of me?"

"Sorry, kiddo. It's the deal that comes with imprinting."

"So you told her about imprinting?" Carlisle asked.

"Yeah, per Alice's request. Jasper didn't want me to, but she's heard the word thrown around a couple of times, and you know how Smartie is. Hates to be left out of the loop." I nudged her tickle spot, and she giggled.

"Does she know about...?" Carlisle asked.

"No," Edward responded.

"What don't I know?" Sera asked, her eyebrows furrowing.

"Nothing," we all said at the same time. I assumed they were talking about the soul mate clause. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Edward nod his head.

"Fine, don't tell me then," Sera grumbled, crossing her arms and refusing to look at me. That kid's emotions were like a rollercoaster.

"C'mon, kiddo. Don't blame me, I didn't decide not to tell you."

"You didn't decide to tell me either," Sera snapped.

"C'mon, Sera. _Please _don't be mad at me. I'll do anything. It's just, your parents said I couldn't say anything, but I _promise _you will find out eventually-"

"But you always give me what I want," Sera pleaded with huge eyes.

Shit. Willpower draining, and fast. "I do. But this time, I can't. Do you want me to get in trouble? Would you do that to me?" I pleaded. Guilt manuver, always works.

Sera sighed and looked away. "No," she muttered.

"So _please _don't be mad at me. I promise that eventually, and maybe very soon, you'll find out. You may even figure it out yourself. Isn't that what you live for?" I said slyly.

Sera huffed in response.

"That's my girl," I said, grinning.

Sera's eyes blinked tiredly. I looked at the clock. Crap, it was three in the morning! Jasper would have my head put on a plaque.

"I'm gonna put you back to bed. Heaven knows you've had a long night."

"But I want to figure it out!" Sera exclaimed.

I smiled at her. "You'll figure it out better when you've had a full night's sleep."

She couldn't deny my logic. "Fine. But I _will _find out."

I chuckled. "You usually do," I said honestly.

I carried her back to Alice and Jasper's room, and tucked her back in.

"Good night, honey. I love you," I said, and I kissed her forehead.

"Love you too, Seth," she murmured, already slipping into unconciousness.

I walked back to the room where Carlisle and Edward were standing.

"You're really good with her. I've never seen her so automatically pacified with anyone," Carlisle said.

"Yeah, Lord knows she gives Alice plenty of grief when it comes to shopping, and Jasper just gives her whatever she wants," Edward said, chuckling.

"I usually just give her whatever she wants too," I responded.

"Yeah, but she also sees reason when she's with you. She's got some spunk, that little one. She's definitely Alice's daughter," Edward told me, laughing.

That she was. Sera didn't like shopping, but other than that, she was her mother's daughter through and through. Whether it was visions, or personality, or looks, she was Alice. She gained Jasper's seriousness, empathy (she cried when she killed her first deer), and devotion for loved ones. Other than those two, it seemed like the person that influenced her the most in the house was me.

Edward nodded in agreement. "Alice and Jasper's daughter."

We began talking about Embry's condition and what we could do for him, as well as arrangements for when Jake and Nessie got home, when all of the sudden I felt a pang in my gut. I heard rustling in the sheets down the hall, and Edward's eye snapped over.

"Sera" was all he said. He didn't have to say anything more. I ran down the hall to her room.

Sera was thrashing around in the sheets. Her eyes were still closed, but I could see the tears rolling down her face. I immediately ran over, and I picked her up. I held her in my arms.

"Don't disturb the vision," Edward said from the doorway.

As much as it pained me, I knew he was right. My presence soothed her somewhat, but the tears were still coming.

After a few more minutes of watching in horror, her thrashing stopped. I nudged her a little bit.

"C'mon, Sera. Open your eyes for me. It's Seth. It'll be okay," I murmured, and slowly but surely, she opened her eyes.

When she saw me, she breathed in a sigh of relief, and a new round of tears came about. "Seth!" she cried, and threw her arms around me. I rubbed circles on her back.

"It's okay, honey. Shhh, I'm here," I promised.

"Embry," she whispered.

"What about him?" I asked her, pulling her back to look at her face.

She drew a shuddering breath. "He's going to try and kill Nessie and Jake's baby. He lunged, and I couldn't see what happened after that," she said, and she sobbed.

"We won't let him touch their baby," I promised her, suddenly feeling angry that Embry would even try something like that. His best friend's child. Or so I thought.

"He was very angry. I-I saw Nessie give birth again, except Grandpa was there. The baby still tried to rip its way out. Embry w-wasn't thinking clearly. Jake was passed out in the corner from the pain Nessie was in. "

"We'll try to stop it," Edward said, walking over and putting a hand on her shoulder. He bent down to hug her.

"You're such a brave girl. These can't be easy, dreaming of the future. But you save lives, Seraphina. Always remember that."

She touched Edward's hand, and her eyes glazed over for a fraction of an inch before she pulled back.

"That was you, when Nessie was born," she whispered, "You looked sad."

"Bella almost died," he whispered back.

"She looked terrible. Like a skeleton. She looked like Embry, except covered in blood."

Edward smiled grimly. "That she did, but we saved her. We'll do the same with Nessie this time around." He touched her head for a second before walking out of the room.

"You're everything to us, as well as your cousin, Sera," Carlisle said, kissing her forehead. "We'll make sure she lives."

Carlisle walked out of the room as well, leaving just me and Seraphina.

"Seth, don't leave," she whispered brokenly. She hung onto my arm like her life depended on it.

"I won't go anywhere," I promised, and slid into the bed next to her. She snuggled under my arm.

"I hate my dreams," she muttered, burying her face into my side.

"There's good things and bad things about every gift. Edward's gift is very helpful, but he also has to listen to voices all day every day. Jasper can help with the emotional climate, but he's also very affected by them too. Alice is like you too. She sees good things and bad things. Sometimes, certain times are better than others. I don't always like being a wolf too."

"Shut up, you love being a wolf," she muttered.

I chuckled. "Yeah, but there are sometimes where I wish I could turn it off. I can't go more than a couple days without phasing. I eat like it's the last meal I'll ever have. I spend more time without clothes on than I do with them on. Some aspects of being a wolf are annoying."

"What's your favorite part?" she asked.

I thought for a moment. "Running. Being with my brothers. Feeling like you're strong enough to protect an entire group of people. That's my favorite part."

She nodded. "If I was a wolf, that'd be my favorite part too."

"What's your favorite part about being half-vampire?"

She laughed. "I get the best of both worlds. I get the speed and the strength of a vampire, but I can also exist in the human world with eating and sunlight."

"And your least favorite?"

Her eyebrows furrowed. "I don't quite fit into either world. The only person who can relate to me is Nessie, but she lives with Jake now. I'm not talented enough to be a vampire, and I'm too talented to be a human. I'm right in the middle."

"That doesn't mean that not fitting in is a bad thing."

"Sometimes."

I sighed. "Go to sleep, sweetie. I'll be here when you wake up."

It was all quiet for a few minutes when Sera said something again. "If you could choose whether or not you wanted to be a wolf, would you still choose it?"

"Absolutely."

"Why?"

I kissed the top of her head. "Because I met you. If I wasn't a wolf, I wouldn't even know you existed, let alone all of this existed."

She smiled. "I love you, Seth."

"Love you too, Sera."

Sera's dreams did not disturb her for the rest of the night.

* * *

><p>I woke up to an earthquake.<p>

"What the-" I yelled, jumping up automatically and lifting Sera's still sleeping body with me.

I heard laughing from the corner. I whipped around and saw that Jake was laughing his ass off at me. I grumbled.

"What the hell, man?" I growled. Sera obviously did not like being woken up, so she hissed at me, flipped backwards in my arms, and slipped right back under her sheets with an annoyed expression.

"Hey, what if the house was on fire?" I asked Sera.

"Then I would have had a dream about it, and then woke you up before the fire even started," she hissed, and closed her eyes to go back to sleep. I rolled my eyes at her.

More laughing. I glared at Jake. "Sorry dude, I should think twice before I shake you awake," he said, and chuckled. I shook my head at him.

"Well I'm awake _now,_" I said, straightening out my clothes.

I took a good look at Jake. He was still glowing from his honeymoon, but I could see the stress that was marring his features.

"How are you, dude?" I asked him.

"Honestly?" he said, "I could be better. I was having such an awesome time with Ness in Australia, and she started showing her bump, and god- she looked so beautiful with the whole pregnancy glow and everything. We were betting that because Nessie's body is strong and the baby was more human than anything else that it'd be a normal birth. Until Carlisle called, telling me otherwise. I've never been that scared in my life." Jake plopped down on the chair.

I looked over at Sera, who was awake and looking at Jake with a sad expression. Jokingly, I approached her cautiously with my hands up.

"Is it safe to pick you up, ma'am? Will I get hissed at again? Maybe lose a finger or two?"

Sera chuckled. "It's safe."

Laughing, I picked her up and held her in my arms. I walked back over to Jake who was watching us with an amused expression.

"Hey, Sera," Jake said, smiling at her.

"Hi, Jake. Is Nessie okay?" she asked worriedly.

"She's okay for the time being. She's feeling a bit sick, but that's it."

Sera looked worried. "I'm going to go see her. Let me down, Seth," she commanded, and I did as she asked. She immediately flitted out of the room.

"She's a character, that one," he said, laughing. I laughed with him.

I laughed, but it immediately turned to a sigh. "Did Carlisle tell you specifics of the dream?"

Jake's face darkened. "Yeah. The baby would rip its way out." Jake's heartbeat stammered nervously.

"It's okay. But...I need you to phase with me," I told him.

"Why?" he asked, confused.

"Because there's certain shit going on with a certain member of this house that you need to know about. Just please don't rip him limb from limb, because I think you'll regret it."

"What's going on, Seth?" he growled.

"Come outside." Without further ado, I walked out of the room, and Jacob followed me with shaking hands.

We walked into the cover of the trees, and took off our clothes to phase. I was immediately bombarded with images from the honeymoon that I definitely did _not _want to see.

_Dude, really? _I growled.

He looked abashed. _Sorry, I had fun._

I shook my head. I immediately began thinking of Embry.

I started during the ceremony when I saw Embry cry, and my confusion. He didn't follow us into the limo. At the reception, he was standing in the corner of the party, getting drunk and his eyes red-rimmed. I took him outside, and I thought about his feelings for Nessie. Jake snarled ferociously.

His vision turned red, and all he could think about was Embry. _She's mine, that fucker._

_Chill out, I never said that she wasn't, and even he knows that she's your imprint. He established that he would never try anything. But you can't help who you love, Jake. _I thought of Bella.

_Bella has _nothing _to do with this. Renesmee is my _imprint! he screeched.

_Can I finish my story? _I said calmly. Jake was still angry, but he nodded.

I thought about how he went M.I.A for two weeks after the honeymoon. I thought about what he looked like when I found him last night, emaciated, dehydrated, and near death. His eyes were lifeless. He smelled like he was decaying. He was _waiting _to die. Even though Jake was livid, he still shuddered at the sight in my mind.

_He knows she's mine, _he growled, although not as angrily as before.

_That's my point, Jacob. It still doesn't change the fact that he's in love with her. I mean, just because Bella was married doesn't mean you ever stopped being in love with _her.

_I told you, Bella has nothing to do with this! _Jake growled.

_I think she does. It's the only thing I can compare it to, and so can you. But the difference between you and Embry is that Embry never once pursued her. You pursued Bella._

_You're taking his side? _he screeched.

I thought of the conversation I had with Sera, about not necessarily taking his side, but to be the voice of reason and try to pacify Jake. Jake sighed.

_You imprinted on a smart cookie, _Jacob said. I laughed.

_I'm not sure if it's so great yet, _I joked, but my voice was full of the love I felt for her.

Jake sighed. _I still want to rip Embry to shreds. _

I thought again of the sight I found last night. He flinched. _I think Embry's suffered enough, don't you think?_

_Damn you for always being the voice of reason, Clearwater._

_Hey, just be thankful I took charge while you left. If it wasn't for me, Embry would be dead right now._

He seemed unsure if that would be a good thing or a bad thing.

_Oh, shut up. You know it'd be a bad thing. In love with Nessie or not, Embry would never betray you like that. He's still one of your best friends._

Jake tried to find an angle to argue from, but he couldn't. My thoughts were smug.

_Just try to talk calmly with him, Jacob. That may sound impossible, but you'd be suprised._

I was about to phase back when his voice interrupted my thought process. _What if the same thing happened to you and Seraphina, hmm? What if Brady or someone else decided they had a massive crush on Sera? What would you do? Would you still be the voice of reason?_

_I already punched Brady while I was drunk, don't give me a reason to do it while I'm sober, _I joked.

_Exactly._

_Honestly, I would probably be furious. Just thinking about one of my pack brothers doing that to me would make me beyond angry and more than a little jealous, plus very protective. But if the positions were reversed, and you were the one trying to pacify me, I can guarantee you'd be saying the same thing to me that I just said to you now._

Jake sighed. _When did you get so damn smart?_

I laughed. _Hanging out with Sera has its advantages._

Leaving him to his thoughts, I phased back. I pulled on my clothes as I walked to the house.

When I walked back inside, I saw Nessie lounging on the couch. She looked a million times better than Bella had when she was pregnant. Nessie literally had the glow. I smiled.

"Hey, beautiful," I greeted as I hugged her. She laughed as she kissed my cheek.

"Hey, smooth talker."

I laughed. "Oh yeah, you know me, famous ladies man."

She smacked my shoulder playfully and grinned at me. "Look at me, I'm huge!"

Her belly was already the size it would be at five or six. She was wearing one of Jake's shirts, probably because none of her clothing fit over her bump.

"I can see that. So can I start calling you Mama Black again?" I joked. She swatted my arm.

"Shut up," she murmured, but she seemed overjoyed at the name.

Carlisle walked into the room. "Nessie, from what your tests show, your body almost done growing."

"Which means...?" Nessie asked, trailing off.

He sighed. "When your body stops growing, you stop reproducing. Your menstrual cycle will stop. Your body with become essentially immortal then, but you will still retain the half-human characteristics. What I'm saying is...this baby will be your only baby."

Nessie sighed. "I figured as much. I never wanted a plethora of kids anyways, but I think Jake will be more devestated than I am. He always wanted lots of kids."

Nessie sighed and leaned back in the seat, absently stroking her belly. She was staring out the window. I could see Jake just beyond the cover of trees, pacing back and forth.

"What is he doing?" Nessie asked.

I shook my head. "I had to tell him something about what happened after you guys left. I assume he's trying to either calm himself down to phase back or figure out a game plan to address it."

Ness cocked an eyebrow. "What did you say?"

I sighed. "It's better if you just talk to your husband about it. Wanna go outside and see him?" I asked.

Nessie nodded, and I stooped down to pick her up in my arms. Jake would kill me if I made her walk.

I walked out of the house and into the cover of the trees. Jake saw us coming and phased back. "Ness, Seth? What's going on?"

"You can explain to her what happened with Embry," I told him.

"You didn't?" he asked.

"I think it's better that you tell her," I said, and before either one of them could protest, I jogged back to the house.

Before either Nessie or Jake could get to him, I walked back upstairs to where Embry was. He was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling. He still looked skeletal, but his skin lost a little of the grayish pallor.

"Hey," I greeted, sitting on the vigil chair in the room.

Embry didn't say anything, he just continued staring at the ceiling.

"I told Jake about what happened," I said.

Embry smirked. "Is he going to kill me?"

"Embry, stop talking about dying," I growled.

"What?" he asked innocently, "I fell in love with his imprint. I could only imagine what he thought about me after that."

"It wasn't the best, but I pacified him," I said,

"You did?" he asked, shocked.

"Yeah. I just thought about what you looked like after I saw you last night, and he agreed with me that you've suffered enough. Seriously, dude. _That's _how bad you looked."

He didn't answer me. His mouth curved into a frown.

"I'm not well, Seth," he whispered, a tear rolling down his face.

"Neither is Nessie. Sera had a vision that the baby would chew its way out."

Embry's eyes snapped over to me. They had more life in them than I ever thought possible in his condition. "Are you serious?"

"Yes. But Carlisle's gonna deliver it before it can chew its way out."

"How can you be sure?" Embry snapped.

"Sera saw him deliver the baby safely." And then you tried to kill it.

Embry growled. "You know, it seems that Sera knows a little too much. She caused this, after all. The reason I ran away."

I felt something snap inside of me, and a dam that had been walling up any fury I had burst open violently. That crossed the line a million times over. I stood up, shaking and snarling. "_Don't you fucking dare, Embry Call. _She's a little girl, plauged with visions of babies chewing their way out of their mothers! Don't you think that would be fucking hard? Do you think she _wanted _this to happen to you? She fucking _cares _about you, Embry! She always asked about you and wanted to go search for you the entire time your pathetic ass was lying in the dirt, giving up on life. You don't even fucking _deserve _her empathy, you piece of shit!" I yelled, dangerously close to phasing.

A little whimper in the doorway made my blood run cold. My eyes snapped over to Sera, who was holding onto the doorframe so tightly she was making an imprint in the wood with her fingers. She was sobbing quietly, horrified.

"Sera-" I whispered, taking a step closer to her.

She didn't even regard me. Her eyes were trained on Embry. "I-I-I'm s-s-s-s-_sorry, _Embry. I'm a b-bad person," she cried, running away from the room, sobbing the entire way. I felt a tear leak from my eye. I wiped it away before rounding on Embry. He actually looked regretful.

"You fucker," I snarled, "If you ever even look in her direction again, I will fucking rip off your limbs and nail them to the wall. Understand?" I snapped.

Embry nodded weakly, even looking a little scared.

"Good. I'm done sticking up for you. Jake can tear you to shreds for all I care. You can insult me all you want, but if you ever say a bad word against my imprint again, it will be the last word you will ever say." With that, I stormed out of the room. I barely made it outside before the pent up rage I was feeling exploded, and I phased.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Shit, man. I got a little pissed with Embry at the last part too. I am definitely pro-Sera and Seth, so even just writing Embry in that way ticked me off. Sorry about the strong language at the end, but if there's one thing I learned about imprints, is that you don't mess with them unless you want to pay hell. Seth may seem easy-going, but he can turn into someone worse than Paul if you mess with Sera. _

_Sorry this chapter is really long. With all of the corrections and additions I made to my story (because I have a bad habit of being a little to blunt when I write and not going into a lot of detail), it ended up at just over 11,000 words. Phew! I hope it's worth the read. (;_

_And this update was really fast too. But as I mentioned before, while my internet's been down, I've been working on this story. I'm working on chapter 9 currently, but don't expect chapter 8 until I'm at least on 10. I'm my own beta, so I like to be a few steps ahead of the published chapters just so I can go back and edit them as much as I want until I'm satisfied. :)_

_Snowflakes and Christmas trees,_

_Chels, xoxo._


	8. Eye of the Storm

_A/N: This chapter took me forever to write because there were so many directions I wanted to take it, so I got the opposite of writer's block. I got writer's overload. I'm not sure which is worse, because you sit there trying to figure out where you wanna take it. Confusing business, I know._

**Chapter Song: **"Snake Devil" by Scary Kids Scaring Kids.

* * *

><p><strong>Seth POV<strong>

I have never been this angry in my life.

_Fuck you, Embry Call, _I screeched in my head. How _dare _he? Was he out of his fucking mind? He's really gonna fuck with _two _imprints when he can barely lift his arm?

Yep. He was out of his mind.

I slashed at the tree, and with one swipe, I tore it to shreds. But it wasn't enough.

I had to get away form the house.

I could feel my imprint connection pulling me back to my little girl, but there was no way in hell I was risking it. I was definitely not in control at the present moment, and I would be beyond devastated if she got hurt.

Just knowing that Embry Call was messing with my abilities as an imprinter just made me angrier.

I couldn't even think of him as Embry. He was Embry Call, the man who made my imprint sob. Made her _hurt._

Fuck Embry Call.

_Calm down Clearwater, _I tried to reason with myself.

Why should I calm down though? I could feel through my connection that Sera was hysterical right now. And she was suffering without me there to comfort her.

I snarled and slashed at another tree.

"What are you doing, Seth?" I heard Jake say through the trees. I could just make his figure out.

In response, I growled.

"Woah there," Jake said, emerging with his hands up in surrender. I couldn't do anything but growl at the present moment, so that's what I settled for.

"Seth, remember earlier? You talked me out of my rage? I'm going to do the same thing. Just phase back."

I snarled at nothing in particular. Well, actually I did, but he wasn't in front of me at the present moment where I could sink my teeth into him.

"Phase back," Jake pleaded.

I couldn't do it just yet. I whined in defeat, which made me growl. Yeah, it was a messed up stream of profanities.

"Think of Sera," he suggested, "Think of her that time right before I got married. You were at First Beach with her, playing with her in the ocean. Think of how happy she made you that day. How happy _you _made _her._"

Through my red haze, I remembered. I remembered the way her dark blue eyes suddenly didn't look so dark anymore, and you could clearly see the blue in her eyes in the sun. Everything about her was _bright _that day. It was like someone had switched a light on inside her skin.

My growling stopped. I was still furious though, too furious to change back.

"Good," Jacob praised, "Now what about the time you first saw her?"

It was my most powerful memory. Rosalie had stepped out of the way, and my entire world changed in one look. It was always her eyes that got me, even from the very beginning. They were just my shade of blue, I guess. _My _blue.

I felt my boiling blood cool. I thought more of that particular blue. When you really looked into her eyes, you saw specks of silver in them. It was like a clear night sky. You wouldn't notice them unless you really looked, but once you saw them, you couldn't look away. I swore that an entire universe existed somewhere beyond her eyes. I could have put money on it.

They were blue like the most brilliant sapphires. Like the deepest oceans.

It was simply _my _shade of blue.

Thinking of nothing but that color, I phased back. I was still beyond edgy though.

"Nice to see you standing on two feet again, bro," Jake said, grinning and crossing his arms.

I wasn't ready to smile back yet. I growled, low and deep in my throat, and turned away.

"What happened?" Jake asked.

"Embry Call happened, that's what," I snarled, "I go in there, full of sympathy and offering to help him out, and what does he do? He _insults Sera. _And of course, Sera hears all of this because she was standing there the entire time...she was devastated, Jacob. And I was so angry that I had to run outside as fast as I could when I should have stayed there comforting her, while happily ripping him limb from limb." My blue. My blue. Calm down, Clearwater.

"What did he say against Sera?" Jacob asked.

"You know what he said? That it was _her fault _that he ran away. That if she hadn't had the vision and didn't need to shout over that fucking DJ, he would have stayed. Like she could have helped it," I growled.

Jake snarled. "He didn't."

"Yeah, he did!" I screeched.

My blue. My blue.

"What the hell is his problem?" Jake growled.

I didn't respond. I was just focusing on not phasing again. So far, I think I was having marginal success.

"He's just _trying _to get himself killed, isn't he?" Jake snapped.

I blinked. "I actually think that's what he's trying to do," I said honestly.

"What's going on?" Nessie said, emerging from the trees too.

"Baby, I didn't want you standing for too long. Your feet will start hurting, and I want you to be comfortable," Jake said, walking over and putting his arms around her.

"I heard the sound of trees being torn apart. I came to investigate," she responded, looking around at the damage. I could see tear tracks on her face. She had been crying.

I stood there shaking slightly, my glare directed in the direction of the house. Jake inhaled her unique scent deeply for a calming measure. She looked momentarily suprised that Jake was in a position where he needed to calm down.

She turned around to look at me. "So is anyone going to tell me what happened?"

Neither of us made eye contact. When we didn't answer right away, she put a hand on her hip and narrowed her eyes a little bit. "Let me rephrase. Tell me what happened."

Jacob sighed. "Embry is causing a lot of issues."

Embry's name made her flinch. "What did he do now?"

"Insulted Sera. Sera overheard, and now she's devastated, and Seth is murderous."

"What did he say?" Nessie asked, her face contorted into shock.

"He said that she was the reason he left. That is she didn't have the vision of you getting pregnant, and she didn't have to yell over that stupid DJ, he wouldn't have left," I muttered. I tried to ignore the heat that was whispering down my spine. My blue.

Nessie gasped. "Why would he do that?"

"Because he's trying to make the world miserable because he was stupid enough to fall in love with a married imprint, that's why," Jake spat.

Nessie closed her eyes. "Jake," she chastisized.

"What? It's true! He's not my fucking best friend," Jake hissed.

Jake tightly gripped the tree next to him in an effort to control himself. He shut his eyes tightly, almost in an effort to will images of him away. Renesmee studied her wolf for a few minutes. "I'm going to go talk to him," she announced suddenly.

"_What?_" Jake and I growled.

Her eyes narrowed. "I've got to talk to him sometime. I need to tell him that I'm married, and that he needs to get over me."

"He's dangerous, Ness," Jacob pleaded.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Half dead, skeletal, lifeless. I should just start running away now."

"But-"

"No, Jake. This is something I have to do. It's the right thing. Despite everything, he at least deserves to hear it from my mouth."

"She's right," I muttered.

Jake growled. "What happened to hating Embry?"

I choked a laugh. "Oh, I still despise him for what he said about Sera, but maybe he'll stop being such a sorry ass if Nessie denies him in person."

Nessie sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "That's the sadistic verson of what I'm doing, but essentially, yes."

He stared at Ness for a long moment. They seemed to be having some sort fo silent converstaion with her eyes. Who knows, maybe they were, since Nessie can project thoughts. After a minute or so, Jake sighed. "Fine. Go break some hearts, Ness."

"That's not funny, you know," Nessie growled.

"It's hilarious," Jake said with absolutely no humor in his voice.

Nessie growled lightly, shook her head at him, and walked away without another word to her husband.

* * *

><p><strong>Embry POV<strong>

I pretty much felt like the biggest piece of shit that ever existed.

I had fallen in love with my best friend's imprint, and then insulted my other best friend's imprint. All I needed to do was do something to Claire and then make it the trifecta.

I needed an award. I don't think anyone had quite the death wish I had.

I tried thinking positive. I tried thinking I was Seth. But of course, Seth also just threatened to nail my limbs to the wall. Maybe he was a bad role model for the time being.

I needed to find some way that I could make it up to him. I really didn't mean what I said, I was just being an asshole. I wanted everyone to be as miserable as I felt.

Well, I succeeded with Sera.

_I'm such a douche bag, _I told myself.

I really did love Sera. I enjoyed her spunk. I thought her wild streak was hilarious. She was an overall sweet kid, and it really wasn't her fault that she had been gifted with visions of her cousin being torn to shreds.

Her cousin. Being torn to shreds.

I dug my nails into my palm, trying to will the images away. My hands were shaking. If Nessie died...I didn't know what I'd do.

I drew a shaky breath.

"E-Embry?" I heard Sera say from the doorway.

My eyes snapped open. I saw Sera standing there with tears running down her face. Her shoulders were wracking with silent sobs. I felt worse about myself than I had in a long time.

"C'mere, kiddo," I pleaded, lifting my arm so that she would come forward. She walked to my bed hesitantly.

"I'm s-s-sorry I made you run aw-w-way," Sera whispered brokenly.

"Sera, listen to me. You did absolutely nothing wrong. I'm the asshole for even trying to blame you. I couldn't face the fact that everything that happened was my fault, so I blamed the first person I could. I wanted to make everyone around me suffer. And I'm really sorry I blamed _you_."

Sera pressed her face into the matress. "I h-h-hate my v-visions."

"Don't hate them," I said. I used my finger to lift up her face. "They're a good thing. Like I said, I was being a bad person that night and I couldn't face the fact that it was my fault."

"I made Seth run away." This seemed to devastate her more than thinking everything was her fault. Sobs wracked through her small frame.

"Get up here," I said. She climbed on top of the matress, and I pulled her into my bony frame for a hug. "Seth was angry, and he was making sure he didn't phase with you near him. If he ran away, it's my fault. Seth's normally a nice kid, but I changed that. I'm more sorry than I can tell you, Sera."

She didn't answer, and only sobbed harder. I patted her back.

I nudged her shoulder and gave her a half-smile. "C'mon, kid. You know I love you. It's easy to love you, remember that."

She sniffed. "I l-love you too, Embry."

She wiped her eyes with my bed sheet and even managed to give me a half-smile. Even in my misery, it was so cute that I had to chuckle at her.

One down, one to go.

And then my beautiful disaster walked in.

Her fiery red-bronze curls were shimmering and thick and fell down to her waist. Her eyes were the most beautiful brown I had ever seen. She had a glow about her that made my heart skip a beat. She was absolute perfection, and she was gracing my line of sight.

But of course, even perfection isn't always perfect.

Her torso was bloated with Jake's child. She looked paler than usual, her lavendar eyelids darker than normal. Her face was shrunken in just a tad more.

It wasn't Bella bad, but it still wasn't right.

"Sera, what are you doing in here?" Nessie asked, astonished to see Sera sitting next to me, wiping her eyes with my bed sheet and sniffling. _Oh that's right,_ _I'm enemy number one right now in this house_, I thought sarcastically.

Sera had opened her mouth to speak, but the answering snarl in the woods made her stop dead in her tracks. She looked frightened. Sera jumped off the bed skipped to the window, and her jaw dropped when she saw what was outside.

"Seth...he looks angry..." Sera whispered, shrinking away from the window. He must be coming up here, and his face must have been one hell of a sight.

Stomping up the steps._ Two_ pairs of feet. Shit.

Seth stormed in the room first, his face that of absolute rage, and his eyes were directly trained on me.

"_Get away from her!_" Seth snarled viciously, immediately snatching Sera up in his arms. Sera looked positively terrified.

"Stop, you're scaring her!" I yelled at him. I felt bad about earlier, and I truly did love the kid, but at the moment the only thing that was hurting her was him.

"_How dare you tell me what's best for her. _I know better than _anyone!" _His growl was dark and dangerous and totally un-Seth-like. Even Jake and Nessie took a few steps back.

"Give her to me, Seth," Jacob said, eyeing Seth's trembling limbs. Sera had tears streaming down her face, staring at Seth, horrified and in shock.

Seth's answer was a posessive snarl.

"Look, I know you hate me right now, but I apologized to Sera. You have to believe me when I say that I adore the kid, I was just being an ass," I pleaded.

"She is _mine. _You hurt her. She cried- _sobbed_- because of _you!_" he growled.

"Seth, you're gonna lose it!" Jake yelled at him.

Seth didn't hear him. He stood there, shaking and glaring at me with absolute malice. He was so close to phasing that I was genuinely terrified for Sera.

That is, until Sera slapped him across the face. Hard.

His shaking completely stopped like it was on a switch. Seth stood there, dumbfounded. His face had an angry red handprint mark that was already starting to heal. And he was staring at Sera with an absolutely shocked expression, like she had just transformed into a walrus before his eyes.

"You hit me," Seth stated dumbly.

Sera's tears started again. "You scared _me_. This isn't the Seth I know. I forgave Embry, and you should too. He said he didn't mean it, and I know he wouldn't have ever said that to me if he was in his right mind." To that, a barked out a laugh.

Seth turned his body just enough to give me a cold glare. "Shut up, Call, or I'll rip your tongue out."

"Seth!" Sera shrieked. She flipped backwards until she was standing in from of him with a mutinous expression. "You are being an angry jerk!"

"_Me?_" Seth asked incredulously, "_I'm _not the one that insulted you, Sera! He's the most disgusting-"

"Shut up shut up _shut up!_" she screeched. The three werewolves and half-vampire in the room winced at her trilling but shrill voice. "I _forgave _him, Seth Clearwater! I don't care _what _he said to me, because I _forgave _him!"

"But- but-" Seth stammered.

Sera growled, low and dangerous, in her throat. It was easy to forget sometimes that, sweet kid or not, she could easily rip someone to shreds if she wanted to. Seth took a shocked step back.

"Seraphina," he whispered, his jaw hanging.

"Jake," she said, turning her back on her imprint all together, "Can you take me to La Push? I want to spend the night at Emily's tonight. Do you think she'd let me?"

Jake nervously eyed Seth, who looked like he had gone into shock. "Um- uh- I can ask, um, ma'am," Jacob stammered. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed like his life depended on it.

Half-vamp kid- one; Fully grown werewolves- nada.

Sera let out an angry huff.

"Sera-" Seth began.

Sera hissed at him. "No. Don't talk to me. If you do, I will run away from you and not talk to you the rest of my life."

Seth's jaw dropped in horror. In my opinion, it was a little kid threat, but to an imprinted wolf, that was the absolute worst thing that could ever happen.

Seth was smart and stayed quiet.

"Yeah, I'll tell her, bye," Jacob said, snapping the phone shut. "Um, Emily said it was fine. Do you...do you want me to take you over there, kiddo?"

Seth had to hold back a growl. "I can take her," he said through clenched teeth.

Sera snapped her head around. Holy shit, if looks could kill. "Jacob can take me."

Seth blinked in shock a few times.

Jacob nervously glanced back and forth between Seth and Sera. Sera's eyes were narrowed dangerously, and Seth took a step back.

"Um, go pack your things then..?" Jake said it as a question, unsure.

Sera skipped over and kissed me on the cheek. I smiled at little at her, but I was still eyeing her imprint nervously behind her, who was taking in the scene with outraged eyes. She followed my line of sight, and shot a glare at Seth. "He better be alive when I get back," Sera hissed at him. It seemed with every threat and snarl and hiss she directed at Seth, the less chance we had of getting him out of shock.

With as much dignity as she could muster, she strode out of the room with her head held high, refusing to even cast a glance in Seth's direction. Jacob's and Nessie's mouthes dropped.

"I...holy shit," Nessie whispered.

"Yep, she's a live wire," Jacob said, staring at Seth nervously. He was stock still, staring at nothing with his jaw hanging.

"Go phase," Jake suggested, pushing Seth a little ways out the door. He stumbled out the door with a blank expression on his face.

And that, my friends, is what imprinting does to you. If your imprint was mad at you, you could get rid of any and all chances of trying to be happy- or even content. It's like walking on tacks barefoot. It's uncomfortable, and painful. You couldn't do it for very long. Except wolves with angry imprints exist in a mostly catatonic state if they're with anyone but their imprint. When they're with their imprint though, you'll most likely find them groveling on their knees, begging for forgiveness.

He stared after Seth with worry before shaking his head. "I'm going to take Sera over there," Jake announced. His eyes narrowed suspiciously at me, and then cast over to Nessie. Nessie looked extremely awkward. Beautiful...but awkward.

"Bye," Jake said, leaning over and kissing Nessie. I diverted my eyes quickly, but not in time to catch a glimpse of the look in his eyes. They were full of love and devotion, and also, a little bit of fear. Fear of me, I wasn't sure. But her returning gaze probably assured him there was nothing to worry about.

That hurt worse than anyone could ever know.

Casting one more long look at Renesmee, Jake walked out of the room.

Fuck.

"Embry," Nessie murmured, but she said it in a chastisizing way.

"I take it you know how I feel about you," I started, twining my fingers together.

Her wide brown eyes bored deep into mine, full of sadness. "I do...and Embry, I can't return them."

I shut my eyes. I knew what she'd say to me- I had played it over and over in my head for weeks- but it didn't make it hurt any less.

She took a step closer to my bed, and I opened my eyes in shock. Shouldn't she be absolutely replused by me? "I wasn't made to love you. From the moment I was born, it was Jake. It was always Jake. He cared for me as a kid, was my best friend growing up, and became the best boyfriend and husband I could ask for. I-I'm sorry," Ness said, casting her beautiful face down at the floor. I could see tears slipping away from her eyes.

"I hate hurting you, Em." I felt my heart tear in thousands of pieces with her old nickname. It used to be a name of endearment, and now it was full of ache. She was exactly like her mother. She hated hurting the people she loved, but she couldn't help it.

"Do you hate me now?" she asked, lifting her shining eyes to my hollow face. Hollow like everything else.

"I couldn't if I tried," I choked out. And boy, had I tried.

I tried to think of a million different reasons why I could hate her. She was in love with my best friend. She wasn't made to love me. I was alone, and I only wanted her. Truthfully, her very presence caused pain in my life- but I wouldn't want it any other way. She was the sun, full of fiery passion that, unfortunately for me (basically the overall direction in my life), was centered soley on Jacob. Jacob was _hers. _As for me, I had nothing and no one to hang onto.

And I _still_ couldn't hate her.

There was one thing that I _did _hate though. The symbol of everything wrong in my life. No, not Jacob, not Renesmee.

Their fucking baby, growing inside her strong body, making her weak.

I tried not to let it show on my face.

"Will you hate me when I have my baby?" she asked, like she had read my mind.

I let that wound sink in. I let it carve me up like a jack-o-lantern, tear up my innards until I was sure I was a bleeding mess and beyond all recognition. "I can't say for sure."

She gave me a half-smile, but it was full of empty promises. "For your sake, I hope you find it reason enough to move on."

Another claw to my chest. If only she knew. "I appreciate the consideration," I said with an edge of bitterness that seemed to be omnipresent in my life. When in doubt, use sarcasm.

She chuckled without humor. "I would say take care of yourself, but..." She let her eyes drift to my pale, emaciated body. I barked a laugh.

"Thanks," I said dryly.

"But I'm going to say it anyways. Take care of yourself, Embry. For me." Her wide eyes regarded me seriously, and her gaze got intense. I finally had to look away. Deftly and almost unwillingly, I nodded in consent.

She sighed. Taking one last glance at my face, my personal hurricane turned on her heel and disappeared out the door, leaving behind a wake of destruction.

But I was only in the eye of the storm.

* * *

><p><strong>Seth POV<strong>

My body felt like it was being lit on fire, slowly cut in half, dipped in acid, hit by a bus, and ripped into by lions.

So this is what it felt like when your imprint was mad at you.

Okay, so maybe I'm overexaggerating a little. Sera got mad at me sometimes, but I still could handle the tornado that was her emotions pretty well. But that was when _my _emotions were under control.

I forgot that bond allowed us to feed off each others' emotions. If she was happy, I was over-the-moon. She was sad, I was devastated. Like the idiot I was, I forgot that sometimes, during certain situations, it worked both ways.

And now she was _mad._

She's never hissed or growled at me before! I wasn't stupid; I knew what she was capable of. What eleven-month-old could already have the brain capacity as hers? But it was safe to say that I was floored when she felt angry enough to growl at _me._

But why me?

Embry was the one at fault! I still had some harboring animosity towards him, but I was finding that the more I thought of what she said about forgiveness, it was disappating a little bit more. But just a little bit. At a snail's pace.

I took off my shorts that I had grabbed from my emergency bolt hole near the property during my rampage, when I had heard Nessie speaking inside the mansion. Sometimes, you tore your clothes. And sometimes, your impressionable imprint was running around inside, so it's not like you could go in there. And sometimes, your imprint's father used to be a major in the Civil War and train newborn vampires for a living, and would have no problem ripping you a new one if you so happened to decide to go inside without clothes on.

I felt sick to my stomach. I wanted Sera to pop out of the house with her unruly black hair and bright blue Converse, wearing a mischievious expression and screaming, "Just kidding! C'mon, let's go play some baseball!" But of course, that didn't happen.

She did, however, walk out of the house. She had a small leather bag that was surely her mother's slung over her shoulder, marching to the car with a pissed off expression. But I could also see the hurt in her eyes.

I caused that.

A rippling pain washed through me. It sent tremors through my body, freezing me over, making my heart feel like it was being clawed at.

I would never make her hurt again. Not if it meant this.

Call it self-preservation, but just the thought of making her hurt was excrutiating.

Jacob followed dutifully, his lips mashed in a tight line. He saw me through the trees, and gave me a _look. _I didn't need to be Edward to know what he was trying to tell me.

Patch things up. Now.

I would do that.

I picked up the shorts in my mouth and ran out of the foliage to the back of the car. I phased quickly before Sera saw a thing, and pulled them on before yanking open the door. Her eyes widened when she saw me, but I didn't care. I pulled her into my arms.

"Sera, _please _forgive me. _Please. _I am more sorry that I can tell you. You want me to grovel and beg? I'll do it. I hate that you're mad at me and that I'm causing you to hurt. I don't want you to never talk to me again, that would _kill _me. I know you're really angry at me, but maybe you could like tackle me during football real hard to get back at me-"

"Seth-" Sera started.

"-and crack a couple of my bones in the process! I don't care. Anything to forgive me. Please please please _please _forgive me. I'll take you out for as much ice cream as you can fit in your stomach-"

"SETH!" Sera yelled over my desperate begging, "I don't want to crack your bones. Or eat ice cream."

I blinked, waiting for her to continue. She let out a huff and furrowed her brows. "You scared me. It was like I didn't even know you."

"Do you know me now?" I pressed.

Sera's brows furrowed even more. "Yes, but-"

"Yes, but nothing! Sera, it's me! I'm sorry I was a jerk to Embry earlier, even after he apologized. No, worse than a jerk. I was a monster-"

I was cut off by Sera throwing her arms around my neck. I hugged her back tightly.

"Is this forgiveness?" I whispered.

Sera giggled. "Yeah, I guess so. Your apologies are pathetic." I laughed so hard I felt tears spring into my eyes.

"So no more Emily's?" Jacob piped in from behind us. I wasn't even aware he was still standing there.

"No, but tell Emily thanks anyways?" Sera asked nicely.

Jacob nodded and smiled, and pulled out his cell phone.

"I'm sorry I hit you," Sera apologized, blushing and looking down at her shoes.

I chuckled. "Don't worry about it. At least I know you can pack a hit now."

Sera smiled. "Do you want to play soccer at the beach?"

I laughed for real this time. "Of course kiddo, anything you want."

It seemed like all problems could be solved at the beach. It literally washed away all your fears.

Sera sprinted down the empty beach, expertly kicking the soccer ball away from my feet. This girl was better at most sports than the athletes themselves.

The goals were drawn as a line in the sand. When she got to my goal, she flicked the ball with the snap of her ankle easily.

"Yay! I have three, you have two," she stated smugly, walking back to the center of the "field." I shook my head at her.

"You know, this isn't fair. You're too freakishly good," I said, toeing the soccer ball.

"Sounds like someone's a poor sport," she sang happily. I rolled my eyes.

"Right. Because losing to a girl who looks like she's five years old does wonders for my self-esteem."

She grinned broadly, and all of the sudden, snapped her leg, and sent the ball flying into the ocean.

She laughed. "I'll go get it!" she called, already running to the shoreline.

"You only did that so that you could go swimming!" I yelled after her.

I was watching her swim expertly to go retrieve the ball when my cell phone rang. I pulled it out of my pocket and looked at the caller ID.

I cocked my eyebrow. This person's never called me before. I didn't think she'd start now.

"Rosalie," I greeted.

My answer was a deafening scream in the background.

"Rose, what's going on?" I panicked.

"Nessie, labor!" was all she said before she hung up the phone.

That's all she needed to say.

Sera was already back on the shoreline, dripping wet. Her smile evaporated when she saw my face.

"Seth, what's-"

"Nessie's in labor, we have to go," I said, tossing a towel around her shoulders and running to the car with her in my arms.

I revved the engine, and beelined to the house.

I heard the screaming a mile away. Literally.

Seraphina winced next to me, sinking down in her seat, staring in the direction of the house.

"Go faster," Sera ordered, but her voice was weak.

I did as she asked.

"Sera, you know what you're going to see is not going to be pretty at all, right? I saw in Jake's head what happened to your Aunt Bella. It's...I wish every time I remember it that I didn't have that image in my head."

She took a deep breath. "Renesmee needs me."

I swallowed thickly, scared that my little girl was about to get scarred for life.

I pulled into the driveway, and the minute I put the car in park, we were dashing inside.

Nessie's pain-filled screams echoed in the house. I heard something wet and dripping, and I also heard the sound of teeth cutting into flesh.

Embry was sitting on the couch downstairs, pale and listless on the couch, staring at nothing in particular as he listened to the sounds of his love dying.

Dying.

I felt the burn of tears in my eyes for the girl I considered to be my sister. I raced up the stairs with Sera close by me.

I wished I hadn't.

Carlisle had his face pressed against Nessie's belly, biting into it with his teeth. Nessie was screaming, her head arched back, vessels popping in her eyes. Tears were running freely down her face. Edward and Jacob were holding her arms down. Edward looked like the burning man again. Jacob...I didn't even have words to describe. Whatever Edward was, he was that ten times over. That was what I could describe it as.

I ran over to help soothe her.

"Nessie," I murmured in her ear, moving her face to look at mine, "It'll be over soon. So soon. You'll be all right."

Rosalie was standing with Carlisle, acting as the assistant. She was handing Carlisle tools and rags, and she saw my face. "Seth," Rose breathed. She said it like she was relieved I was here. Because I made Nessie quiet down, she must have been referring to the fact that Nessie's been screaming this whole time.

Nessie's screams died down to painful sobbing. She wheeled her eyes around to look at me, but she couldn't put them into focus.

"You're doing perfect, Nessie, you're so strong," I whispered. I ran my hand through her hair.

I looked over at the doc, who was now taking out the baby. "Hurry up," I growled.

When I looked down, Nessie was passed out, and so was Jacob.

"Seth!" Edward yelled, motioning for Nessie's free arm.

I clamped down on her arm, making sure that if she did wake up, she wouldn't be going anywhere. Bella tugged Jacob's body into the corner.

I glanced over at Sera. She was flitting her eyes back and forth from the door to her cousin with a terrified expression. I felt my own hands begin to tremble.

I heard the doc dive his hand into the flesh of Nessie's stomach. Suddenly, a baby's startled panting sounded in the room.

"A girl," Carlisle breathed, handing the crying infant over to Rosalie. Bella took over Rose's place and began handing Carlisle tools.

Carlisle began stitching his granddaughter up, and my guess was that the pain meds finally spread, because Jacob was able to wake up after that.

"I- Nessie," he groaned, sitting up. He looked around, shocked to see Bella holding his daughter.

"Baby," Jacob whispered, lifting himself onto his feat unsteadily, and walking over to his new child.

Rosalie's face was out of character, and actually smiled broadly before handing him his daughter.

"Allegra," he said, tears leaking out of his eyes.

"Allegra," Bella breathed, her smile widening.

I didn't even realize I was crying until I felt the tears fall on my hands. Sera was crying too, and she walked over and hugged me.

Edward and I stood up, and I picked Sera up into my arms. We walked over to the baby.

"Allegra Sarah Bella Black," Jake said, grinning like no tomorrow. Jake and Bella exchanged a grin.

Allegra opened her eyes and revealed the most startling shade of green I had ever seen.

Everyone gasped, but the loudest came from Edward. Edward looked astounded, his golden yellow eyes changed to that of shock. She had Edward's odd shade of green when he was human.

Allegra had darker bronze hair, like a mix between Jacob's hair and Nessie's. It was more a dark copper than a shining bronze, but nevertheless beautiful. She drew in quick pants, taking us all in with intelligent eyes.

"Odd, it seems that her genes depend on which one she inherited, she can't just be both werewolf or vampire," Carlisle observed, walking over to look at the baby. "She probably has the wolf gene in her, but that's to be passed on, not used."

Everyone looked down at the baby girl with startling green eyes. I was the only one who noticed Sera take in a sharp intake of breath.

My eyes snapped down to my imprint. She was looking on at the doorway, shaking and terrified. She made a little whimpering sound that automatically made me stand defensively in front of her.

Embry was standing there, the face of rage. He wasn't looking at the baby, not at all. He was staring at the still-gruesome sight of Nessie sleeping, blood still on her, and the stitches in place but already healing. He was trembling so hard he was a blur.

His eyes lifted to the group. Sera shrank back behind me, and I growled, low and defensive at him, prepared to phase.

I crouched low, daring him for a clear target at the group. Bella saw what was going on, growled defensively too, and everyone else finally caught on.

As I gave him a clear target, something changed.

Something huge.

Embry stopped shaking, for one.

His face changed from malice, to something completely alight with...hope. Pure hope.

Embry imprinted.

* * *

><p><em>AN: And there you have it, folks! That's Embry's happy ending. He imprints on his best friend's daughter. Sound familiar? I'm sure some of you guessed this ending, and I was gonna pull an M. Night Shamalyn (spelling?) and do a huge groundbreaking twist at the end, but I decided just to leave it. I'll leave the twists for later in the story. (;_

_And I'm going to do a question and answer period in one of the chapters. It'll help me if I know what to clear up in my story. So send a message with your questions, and I'd be happy to answer them when I upload the next chapter. (:_

_-Chels. xoxo_


	9. Vestigium Eius

_A/N: Okay, seriously, if last chapter took me forever, this one took me forever and a day. I have been so extremely busy. I know that's a shitty excuse that's probably been used thousands of times, but it's true. Finals are this week, and when you have advanced classes, finals are like a death sentence. I have been getting to school AN HOUR AND A HALF BEFORE THE BELL IS EVEN SUPPOSED TO RING. I hate my life. -_- You know you're going to school at an ungodly hour when the streetlights are still on. UGH. But enough complaining, here's the chapter! (:_

_The name of the chapter means "His Imprint" in Latin._

_Chels, xoxoxoxo._

**Chapter Song: **_Hard Sun, _by Eddie Vedder.

_"I brought children into this dark world because it needed the light that only a child can bring."_

_~Liz Armbruster_

* * *

><p><strong>Seth POV<strong>

Shit.

Fuckity fuck fuck.

Embry imprinted. Embry Call imprinted. On Allegra. Allegra as in Allegra Black, as in his best friend's daughter. As in, Embry was going to be in deep shit.

I think Sera passed some of her foresight on to me.

Because in deep shit he was.

As soon as it happened, I knew. Sera knew. Bella knew. Edward knew. Carlisle knew. Rosalie knew.

And Jacob knew. Oh boy, did Jacob know.

Everyone stopped growling as soon as Embry imprinted. He stood there, staring at Allegra Sarah Bella Black like a blind man stares at the sun for the first time. For a brief second, he didn't look so frail or emaciated anymore. He looked...alight. He looked like he had finally found hope. He looked _happy. _

And then somewhere during all of this, the growling started again.

Jacob crouched low in front of his best-friend-in-question. Jacob looked positively furious, and I immediately snatched Sera into my arms and backed way from them. I then handed Sera to Rosalie, just in case I had to jump in between the fight brewing.

"I hate you," Jacob growled, backing Embry out the door, his face in that of pure rage, "I hate you so fucking much. Best friends my ass. My fucking _daughter, _you worthless piece of shit!"

"I can't fucking control it! You didn't control it when you imprinted on Renesmee!" he defended, backing away. I noticed how there was no animosity in his voice when he mentioned Renesmee and imprinting in the same sentence. _One step forward, two steps back, _I thought tiredly.

I followed them out the door, trying to be unobtrusive. My hands were shaking with the tension and rage in their air, and I ducked my head low as I felt my Alpha's fury.

Embry stumbled down the stairs, and Jacob stalked after him, shaking faster and faster. Embry was shaking too.

"Dude, I'm _sorry. _I'm really sorry for everything-"

"_Everything?_" Jake snapped, "You fall in love with my imprint, nearly ruin my wedding with your damnass moping, ruin my _honeymoon, _almost kill my baby, and then you imprint on my daughter and think that everything's cool between us? _Sorry _doesn't even fucking cover it, you asshole." Jake had stalked him out to the front lawn. I could feel the pursue of the other family members behind me. Emmett started to chuckle silently.

"I didn't think everything between us was cool. I realize that I'm in the wrong, but I still want to fix things-"

"And why would you want to do that?" Jake said sarcastically, "Want good relations with your future father-in-law?"

Embry shook his head fiercely. "No, I don't see her like that at all-"

Jake snarled.

"Jacob!" I yelled, "Stop-"

I didn't even get my sentence out when Jacob abruptly shifted in mid-lunge at Embry. Embry phased as well to protect himself.

And so ensued the fight between Embry and Jacob.

Jake launched himself at Embry, connecting his teeth with the meat on Embry's flank. Embry let out a loud yelp, and when Jake withdrew, blood was gushing from the bite wound left behind.

I shifted to protect my two friends.

I was immediately bombarded with images of Jake's fury and Embry's sadness, despair, but ever-prevailing hope. This angered Jake even more.

I lunged in between the two, and Jake's body hit mine as we tumbled to ground. I felt something pop in my shoulder.

_Seth, _Jake growled.

_Jacob, you're losing it! Is it so bad he imprinted on Allegra? _I pleaded, wincing around the pain in my already healing arm. I swiftly popped it back into place, trying not to yelp.

_My daughter, _he growled, and set his eyes again on Embry.

_It was always meant to be! _Embry argued.

_Shut up, _I yelled at Embry in my head. He wasn't making anything better.

Jake got even angrier, if that was possible. He lunged again at Embry, this time aiming for his throat.

"STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!" Sera trilled from the porch.

Jake fell to the ground, like he was given his own Alpha command. Embry whimpered. I felt a surge of pride and fear from my imprint standing on the porch.

I was going to be in trouble when she got older.

Sera stood there, an angel of fury, staring on at what was happening with outraged eyes. Jasper was trying to hold her back, but she was having absolutely none of it. I immediately cowered, and so did Embry and Jake.

"Jacob Black, you are going to _kill _Embry!" Sera yelled.

Jacob whined in protest.

"Don't argue," she snarled. Jacob shrank back.

"He's your best friend! He's suffered so much, and now he's finally found happiness! You're going to take that away from him?" Sera growled. She pulled Allegra out of Rosalie's arms. Allegra's brilliant green eyes were locked on Embry's figure, and she looked scared. Sera kissed the top of Allegra's head. "See? She's terrified. And all she wants is Embry."

Jacob internally frowned at Sera's assessment, and Embry's thoughts were smug. I just didn't understand why Seraphina was suddenly Team Embry all of the sudden.

I slinked in between Embry and Jacob, and Jake growled at me. _Get out of my way, Clearwater._

Sera snarled, and Jake immediately sank back. "Mine. My Seth," she growled.

I instantly swelled with pride for my imprint. My inner wolf was rejoicing at the fact that she said I was _hers, _and the happy-go-lucky Seth in me did a little happy dance. Embry rolled his eyes at my thoughts.

Sera's way-too intelligent eyes met mine. "Go phase back," Sera said. Or, er, commanded, if you wanted to get technical. Everything she told me was a command in its own way anyways. I would have died on the spot right there if she wanted me to-

Jake nipped at my flank. His thoughts were abashed. _You're a pussy. Let's go phase back; it might keep Call alive._

For once, Embry had nothing to say. His thoughts were a whirlwind of Allegra and sadness and fear.

Sera's arms crossed defiantly in front of her chest, and Emmett's laughter boomed around us. "God, this little girl. I'm proud of how she turned out," Emmett said with a shit-eating grin. Edward smacked the back of his head.

We ran to one of the many emergency clothing bolt-holes scattered around the property in the Forks days. Wearing two-year old pants did not smell the best, but it was better than nothing, and I wouldn't have cared either way. Embry and Jacob couldn't even look at each other as they pulled on their pants. I noticed that Embry's shoulder had healing bite marks all over them, while Jake didn't have a single scratch. I sighed. As much as Embry had pissed me off earlier, I knew that Embry would not have harmed a single hair on Jake's head.

Jake obviously didn't feel the same.

We all walked back to the house. To say that it was an awkward and tense walk would be an understatement. I walked in the middle of the two, and at one point when Embry snuck a glance at Jacob, Jacob returned his look with a snarl and a "you better look away if you know what's good for you."

I sighed heavily. "Jacob, please. This isn't good. It's not you. You're not an angry person." I shot a look at Embry, who was trying his hardest not to look in our direction.

"And how do you know _that?_" he shot back.

I raised my eyebrow at him. "I spend every day in your head. You're one of my best friends. I _know._"

He shook his head at me. "I don't need your words of wisdom right now, Seth."

I was going to say something back, but I bit my tongue. My word vomit probably wouldn't help the situation.

The tense atmosphere dissapitated a little bit as we walked back to the house. A little bit, not much.

Jacob strode over to Sera, where she was holding Allegra still, and lifted her into his arms. His eyes met Embry's, daring him to differ.

Embry sighed, his eyes were locked on Allegra's. Allegra was reaching out towards Embry, but Jacob was pretending she wasn't. Embry frowned in discontent, a mirror image of Allegra's face. He hadn't even held Allegra yet, and they were already so connected it was crazy.

"Why don't you like Allegra having a wolf?" Sera asked Jake, confusedly.

"Because's Embry's a jack-"

"Oi!" I yelled over Jacob, "She's _eleven-months-old._"

Alice mouthed "thank you" at me.

"Sorry," Jacob muttered. "Anyways, I don't want my daughter having a wolf like Embry."

"What's wrong with Embry?" Sera asked again, but almost defiantly. Jasper's eyebrows raised.

"Well, before Mama Seth cut over me, he's a certain word that I'm apparently not allowed to say."

I rolled my eyes at his nickname. "I'm not _that _bad," I muttered.

"But he's your best friend," Sera stated.

"No he's not."

"Yes he is," Sera shot back.

"No, really. He's not."

"And why is that?" Sera retorted, crossing her arms.

Jacob's eyebrow raised at her. "You don't take no for an answer, do you?"

"Not when it's ridiculous," Sera said, her eyes glinting.

Jacob sighed. "Well, he imprinted on my daughter, for one."

Sera shook her head. "That's not a reason. I _like _having a wolf. And besides, Daddy likes Seth. Why can't you like Embry imprinting on Allegra?"

"Because he's my best-" Jacob stopped short, realizing what he was about to say. Sera looked smug.

"Finish your sentence," Sera told him, grinning.

"I don't have to if I don't want to," Jacob muttered childishly. Sera sounded older than he did. That was just sad. Jacob Black, renegade pack Alpha wolf, great chief of the Quileute nation, pwned by an eleven-month-old child. Edward laughed at my thoughts, and Bella and Rosalie raised an eyebrow at him.

Sera turned to Edward. "Uncle Edward, what was he going to say?"

Jacob glared at Edward, but Edward pretended that Jacob didn't exist. "Best friend."

"See! Embry _is _your best friend! That's why you're angry?" Sera shot at him. This was like a tennis match.

Jacob looked desperately in between Sera, Edward, and Embry. "I – uh – I don't know! I'm angry because...because...he fell in love with _my _imprint, and then proceeded to imprint on my daughter."

"I couldn't help it, Jake," Embry murmured, "I had the connection with Nessie. I had the connection with Bella too. I guess...I didn't care much about your imprint, because every girl I've really liked, you've taken," Embry said, and then awkwardly added, "I guess."

"Bella? Really?" Jake asked incredulously.

Embry and Bella exchanged glances. "Yeah. I had a crush on Bella for the longest time. Up until she became a lee – um, vampire."

"And Nessie?" Jacob asked.

"I had a stronger connection with Nessie than Bella. I saw her grow up and everything. I saw everything you saw, everything she was, and I was jealous of how close you were on multiple occasions, but I never said anything. I also learned to hide it pretty well. And then she got older. And prettier. And when you watch someone grow up before your eyes and see them become the most beautiful thing you've ever seen, well...it's hard not to love them." Embry added a shrug.

"Yeah, well. Seth saw her grow up too, and he didn't fall in love with Ness." Jacob shot me a look, and I was left wondering how I came up in this conversation.

Nevertheless, I fought the urge to gag. "Okay, sorry to butt in, but _ew. _Nessie's like my sister. That's like talking about Leah."

"That's because there was never any Allegra in the equation for him," Embry piped in, almost completely ignoring me.

"Even if Seth _had _an Allegra, I doubt he would have fallen in love with Ness," Jake added. When I didn't agree, Jacob spun around to me with an incredulous expression. I shrugged.

"Imprinting is strong," I said, "Who knows what could have happened."

My imprinting wasn't exactly normal. Seraphina was a half-vampire, for one, and an orphaned one at that, which was pretty much an anomaly among anomalies. And it was in a supernatural world too. But my bond with Sera, however supernatural, was as strong as any other imprinting bond. As if to validate my point, I walked across the lawn to pick up Sera. It seemed that all the arguing and action wore her out. She yawned tiredly and smiled at me with a sleepy expression.

"Don't worry honey, I got you. You can go to sleep," I said, and she smiled sweetly and closed her eyes. I kissed the top of her head.

Jacob watched us with tight eyes. His hands balled up into fists, almost as if the idea of imprinting made him angry, even though he had done it himself. "I hate when you're right, Clearwater."

"He usually is, even though he's dorky," Sera muttered sleepily, and I laughed out loud, joined with a couple of Cullens.

"Claire giving you a few words to use?" I asked. Maybe hanging out with girls roughly her age would make her act younger. I would have to take her to La Push _way _more often, I thought.

"Well, I could have said facetious, but I like dorky better," she said into my neck, already dozing lightly.

I smiled. "Okay, Smartie."

"Okay, Dork."

I chuckled. "Sweet dreams."

Sera smiled, and began to doze off even more.

When I looked up, I saw Embry and Jake having a silent conversation. Embry was staring at Jake, pleading, and Jake's eyes were guarded, but slowly giving up.

Everything was completely silent. The vampires all held their breath, and even those who had to breathe might as well not have been. But upstairs, there was a slight rustling of sheets.

"Jake," Nessie whispered, and her breathing slowed back down again, signifying that she fell back asleep.

And that was all he needed.

Jake blinked a couple of times, and then looked back at Embry. "Do you promise to never hurt her?"

Embry looked shocked, but nodded. "I would kill myself before I harmed a hair on her head."

"Will you be everything she needs you to be?" Jake choked out.

"Everything," he promised.

"You won't ever leave her?" Jake asked again.

"C'mon, dude. I _imprinted _on her. Just the thought of leaving or hurting her is excrutiating."

Jacob looked back down at his sleeping daughter. She looked so peaceful and pure.

"Fine. I'll forgive you...this time," Jacob said. I had to stop myself from letting out a joyous shout. It was about _time! _

"Thank you," Embry said feverently. Jake rolled his eyes.

"You can hold Allegra. I'm going to go sit with Ness. That means you're on diaper and food duty. It's not my issue if she bites you," Jake warned.

Embry looked too damn happy to care. "That's fine with me."

Embry was almost bouncing with joy as Jake handed ove Allegra. Allegra's eyes instantly opened.

Her eyes and Embry's eyes met, and I could practically feel the bond those two shared. Her small fingers automatically wound around his finger, as if he was her security blanket.

Jake couldn't help but smile ever-so-slightly, before slinking out of sight.

And I knew by the look on Embry's face that he had finally found happiness.

* * *

><p>I emerged into the office where Ness was a little while later, hoping to catch her awake. But she was still in comatose with an IV sticking out of her arm. Thanks to her fast healing, her stomach had already gone flat again, as if nothing had ever been growing inside of her for the past month, but I could still see the outline of stitches through her hospital grub. Jake was sitting next to her, staring at her face with a mixture of hope, love, and desperate confusion.<p>

I knocked softly on the door frame once, and Jake's head shot up. He openly sighed in relief when he realized that it was me, not a vampire or Embry.

"How is she doing?" I asked, pulling up another chair next to her. I took her warm hand in mine as I looked down at the girl I considered to be my kid sister. I shuddered as I remembered my part in this birth, holding her down while she was passed out in pain. The way her face had been marred into an expression of pain and desperation as Allegra clawed her way out.

At least she looked peaceful now.

"Stop that," Jake sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. I raised my eyebrow.

"You act like she's dying," Jake muttered, "I can't stand it."

"Jake, she almost _did _die-"

"No, she promised she would never," he growled fiercly.

I sighed, but decided to let it go. "I know. I'm just glad it's over."

Jacob sighed too, but it was a mix of a sigh and a growl. "So what happened while I was passed out in the corner?"

I scratched the nape of my neck in awkwardness. "Well, you passed out...so I took over your spot. Nessie was out cold, and then in a matter of seconds, Allegra was born. You woke up after that." I didn't mention that watching Allegra's birth was probably the most gruesome sight I ever witnessed.

He shook his head. "I can't believe I passed out."

I stiffled my smile. "You probably passed out because she passed out. Imprints are connected like that."

Jacob shuddered. "She was in _so _much pain. Carlisle didn't have time to administer the pain medication properly, so she felt _everything. _I did too."

I shuddered as well, and looked back down at Nessie. It was hard to believe that someone who had such little life experience could have gone through something so horrific. Nessie hated when we used her technical age against her, but it was hard not to in situations like this.

I leaned back into my chair. "You did a good thing, you know."

Jacob looked back at Ness. "He looked happy, at least."

"Of course he was. He has a happy ending now."

"You know, I might actually begin to trust him again one of these days," Jake muttered.

"It might not be so bad, having a permanent babysitter. I do plenty of that," I said, chuckling.

"That would be nice," he mused.

We sat in companionable silence after that. Sera was down the hall, snoring softly. She was out in seconds after I put her back to bed.

Edward walked in the room. "Seth, she's dreaming of you."

"Is she?" I asked incredulously. "What's in store for my future?"

Edward smiled. "Nothing. For the first time, her dreams are just that – dreams."

Edward must have felt my amazement, because he chuckled. "Go be there for her."

I didn't need any further encouragement. As fast as I could go without making noise, I stole from the room, into Alice and Jasper's old room.

Sera was curled up in a ball, snuggling Remus with a ligth smile on her face. She felt my presence because she immediately began stirring.

"First Beach, Seth," she murmured, "Let's go play on the beach."

I smiled, and crossed the room. I tucked myself in right next to her. "Whatever you want, kiddo."

And that was the last thing I remembered before falling alseep.

* * *

><p><em>AN: And there concludes the subplot of Embry, Jacob, and Nessie! (: As much as I liked writing about them, I will enjoy writing about Seth & Sera more. ;) _

_Sorry this chapter was shorter than the other ones. I just wanted to conclude the E/J/N story as quickly as possible._

_I know you guys have been chomping at the bit to get some romance, but it'll happen. Nothing will happen overnight. It'll be gradual, but I promise, there WILL be lemony goodness._

_Until next time,_

_Chels._


	10. Twinkling Lights and Vampire Fights

_A/N: For all you rabid readers (and I do mean rabid; I've had people threaten to kill me and enslave my ghost to write forever if I don't satisfy their need to read my story with regular updates...I _think_ it's a compliment), here's the new chapter. I answered some of your questions in a seperate chapter, but I took it down because, well...I just did. Hahaha. Finally out of that certain time frame rut...as much as I loved writing for the Nessie/Jake/Embry crew, I'm glad I'm finally able to move forward and write about Sera growing up._

_**This chapter will have some action and violence. Not to M level, but just be warned.**_

"_You need not be sorry for her. She was one of the kind that likes to grow up. In the end she grew up of her own free will a day quicker than the other girls."_

J.M. Barrie, _Peter Pan_

**No chapter song this time.**

* * *

><p><strong>Seth POV<strong>

Things were much better after that.

Embry and Jake began healing their relationship. It was strained at times, and there wasn't much possibility of them being close as they were before, but I know that from being in their heads on a regular basis, they wouldn't have changed a thing. Especially Embry, who was miserable for so long, and now didn't even know what to do half of the time with all of the happiness he had.

He usually shared his happiness with Allegra.

When we told Nessie about the imprint, she didn't have a conniption like everyone assumed, and for that, I was permanently grateful that I would not be forced to help with more rennovations after the aftermath of a Nessie tantrum.

_Nessie rustled in her sheets. We were all in the room, excitedly watching her come out of comatose. Carlisle had taken out her stitches about an hour ago, and since then, she had been slowly waking up._

"_Ah – hmm, where am I?" Nessie muttured, still a little groggy from the meds._

"_Baby? Ness? Are you okay?" Jacob asked, flinging himself to the side of her bed, brushing her hair out of face, feeling her forehead, checking her pulse – basically, mothering her._

"_I'm okay, Jake," she said quietly, finally coming fully out of her daze._

_It took a few seconds before she realized that she had a kid not too long ago. Her hands flew to her stomach, feeling the new skin there, her eyes searching wildly for a baby that looked like her and Jake._

"_The baby?" she whispered._

"_She's beautiful, just like you," Jacob told her, smiling._

"_She?" she asked. Yeah, she'd been out a long time. She wasn't even around long enough to find out whether or not it was a boy or a girl._

"_Allegra." Jacob said her name in the same way religious people say God. Reverence._

"_Where is she?" Renesmee asked, continuing to look around._

"_Downstairs. With, er – Embry." Jacob muttered. _

_And here came the fireworks. "_Embry?" _Nessie shrieked, "He'll kill her!" Nessie went into mother hen/vampire mode, and she swung her legs off the bed, a fierce look in her eyes. I couldn't help it. I winced and shrank away from the bed. Don't get me wrong, I love Nessie, and I would take a bullet for her any day, but that woman scared me._

"_Nessie, he's not going to hurt her," Jacob said calmly, gently sliding her legs back under the sheet. She looked at him with an incredulous expression._

"_You've got to be kidding me! He wanted nothing to do with that baby before, what changed – "_

_Nessie cut off suddenly. She watched our faces, and we watched hers morph into one of understanding – and realization. We told the story without having to say a word._

_Nessie sank lower into the pillow. Her brown eyes were wide with the wave of realization that was washing over her at that very moment. Personally, I thought she looked a little queasy. Edward heard my thoughts, and pulled up a trash can for her just in case. It was handy having a guy in the house that knew your thoughts sometimes._

"_What happened while I was out?" Nessie whispered, looking at all of us in the eye._

_And so we told her. Everyone had a say in what happened from their point of view, starting from seconds before labor, to the delivery, to the imprint, to the fight on the lawn. We told her about the connection Embry and Allegra shared already. How he's already completely hers. Everyone said their bit, except for Embry. We dedicated maybe thirty minutes just explaining everything that happened in the two days she was out._

"_And Embry's downstairs." After all we said to her, this was the very first thing she said to us. I didn't really blame her though. A hell of a lot happened, so I would probably go for the most easily processable thing too._

_Jacob seemed to pick up on this. But then again, they had an imprint bond between them. I could probably do the same thing with Sera. "Nessie, I know this is a lot. He's downstairs. Allegra is with him, and she's completely safe and happy." Jake rubbed soothing circles on the back of her hand, while she stared blankly at the wall. I started to figet uncomfortably. What could possibly be going on in her head? _

_And like always, Nessie did the very last thing we expected her to do: she started laughing._

_She doubled over in laughter. She was literally shaking she was laughing so hard. Tears rolled down her face. We all watched with wide eyes, including Sera, who was looking at her cousin like she was a science experiment and didn't understand the reaction it made. Emmett started chortling too (but Emmett thought everything was perpetually funny, so I wasn't surprised), until Jasper nudged him._

_When her laughter finally started to die down, she managed out, "Oh my god! It makes so much sense now!" she chuckled._

_Jacob's eyebrows shot up to his hairline. "You're kidding, right?"_

_Ness laughed and shook her head. "Of course not. This is marvelous."_

_Jacob stared at Nessie like she had just said that she was secretly a dolphin._

_Nessie calmed down a bit after that, but still wore a wide grin on her face. "My baby. She has an imprint too!"_

_Jacob looked like he just got bitch-slapped. "Wait a second. You're _happy _about this?"_

"_Why wouldn't I be?" she asked, confused._

"_Um, I don't know, considering that she already has a claim on her before you could even get to hold her?" he retorted._

_She sobered up. "Jake, she has a built-in best friend now. I grew up with one, and now she gets one too."_

_Jake started to lightly bang his head on the side table. Nessie laughed and ran her fingers through is hair. "I swear to god, Renesmee. I could spend _three_ eternities with you, and you will never fail to amaze me."_

_Nessie smiled. "Can I see our daughter?"_

_As if on cue, Embry emerged into the room looking a lot better than he did a week ago, holding Allegra in his arms. Allegra looked every bit as beautiful as Nessie did when she was a baby. Because the vampire gene was dominant, she grew as fast as Nessie, and retained all the half-vampire characteristics. _

_We didn't know if Allegra had a power yet or not. We'd find out soon enough._

_Nessie sucked in a gasp. Her eyes immediately watered, and she seemed at a loss for words. "She's... so beautiful. Is she ours?" she whispered._

"_Can you believe it?" Jacob whispered back, kissing her cheek._

_Embry walked over to Nessie and slipped Allegra into her waiting arms. We all held our breath._

"_Hi, Allegra," she whispered, looking into her daughter's bright green eyes, "I'm your mommy. I'll try to be the best one I can be. And if I'm ever not, I can at least count on Em over here to pull up the reins."_

"_You'll be a good mother, Ness," Embry told her, smiling._

_Nessie returned the smile genuinely. "And you'll make a good imprint."_

It wasn't quite rainbows and sunshine yet, but it was a lot less uneventful nowadays, much to Emmett's disappointment.

"You know, I kinda like having you wolves aorund," Emmett commented to me one day over a round of Call of Duty, "Y'all make everything fun around here. It's too monotone."

That was Emmett's point of veiw on things.

Personally, I liked the monotone. Embry almost dying, my almost-sister being ripped open, and Embry imprinting on my best friend's baby was a little too eventful for my tatse, especially since my imprint witnessed it all. Sera handled it a lot better than anyone expected her to do, probably because she already saw it happen in her visions and had time to mentally prepare for it. Whatever it was, although she handled it well, she simply preferred not to talk about it.

As much as I didn't want to leave La Push, it was nice to go back to Idaho for some normalcy. I just hated the look on Sera's face when Alice told her we were leaving.

"_Why do we have to go?" Sera whined._

"_Honey," Alice said gently, "Seth will bring you back soon. We all will."_

"_No! My friends are here! My human friends! And the pack! Seth, tell her!" Sera shrieked, her eyes filling with tears instantly._

_My body started to quiver and I had to fight the urge to give in to her. "I –uh – Sera, I promise I will take you back as soon as possible. We just need to go back to Idaho for a little while."_

"_But why? I never want to go back to Idaho! I want to live in La Push!" Sera wailed, the tears flowing now._

_Alice had a pained look on her face. "Sera, I know you want to stay, but –"_

"_Why can't we live here?" Sera asked. Well, I'll be damned. Why _couldn't _we live here?_

"_We spent too much time here before. We don't want to endanger our family, right?" Alice pleaded, pulling out the "family is first" card that always worked on her. Well, most of the time._

"_But Seth's friends are here, Mommy! He wants to stay, and I want to stay with him!" she wailed again. Maybe not._

"_Seth goes where you go," Alice reminded her._

_I felt myself relax a little bit. "It's true, Seraphina," I said, ruffling her hair, "I'll go wherever you go. But for now, we need to go back to Idaho. Priorities and all that," I said, winking at her. She let out my secretly favorite huff, which I thought was adorable, but would never tell her that because she only did it when she was annoyed. That would be like putting gasoline on a fire._

_But then again, I thought that just about everything she did was the single freaking most adorable thing I ever saw. But how could you not with someone as amazing as her?_

"_I hate priorities," she mumbled. I bit my lip to keep from laughing._

"_They're not all that bad. You're my priority, did you know that?" I told her._

_Sera smiled coyly. "I did."_

_I laughed. She was too damn cute. "And how did you figure that one out?" I already knew the answer to that though. Sera knew everything._

_Sera laughed. "Every time I play a sport, you make sure that I have padding on every inch of my skin, even though I can't be hurt because I'm indestructable."_

"_That's just being overprotective," I said, smiling._

_Sera raised her eyebrow. "I told you to bark at someone when I was younger, and you did."_

_I had no comeback. _

_Alice's trilling laugh started, and downstairs, Rosalie and Jasper joined in. I laughed too. "What can I say? It's in my nature."_

"_But I'm also your first priority," she said._

_I smiled at her, and ducked down to kiss the top of her head. "Yes you are."_

Within a week of Embry's imprint, we were packed up and ready to go back to Idaho. I was ready to spend time back in the old Pack house and chill out for the time being, instead of running back and forth in between Forks and La Push.

I was especially glad for today, because today was Sera's first birthday.

I was practically hopping up and down wherever I went. Dawn had barely cracked the horizon and I was already up, showered, and making coffee.

Embry emerged downstairs about an hour later. He looked at me and rolled his eyes.

"You look like you're about to piss all over yourself," Embry muttered as he pulled a mug out of the kitchen cabinet. Well, if there was one thing you could never change about Embry, it would be his sarcasm. He held it to an art form. I laughed at his disgruntled expression. He wasn't a morning person; me, pretty much any time of day was my time of day.

"Good morning, sunshine," I said, flexing my own new sarcasm muscles. When I was a teenager and still in the La Push pack, Leah would always say "I wouldn't know sarcasm if it came up and kicked me in the side of the head." She would be glad to know that I would actually use some now. It was weak and pitiful, but still sarcasm. Hey, I was learning.

Embry snorted. "So. Seraphina turning the big _uno _today. Your thoughts, Mom?"

I chuckled. "Shut up. I'm not her mom."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "That you aren't."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. So what did you get her?"

I decided to ignore his comment. "Before we left, I went to Seattle to pick her up something nice for her birthday. You know, something special." I pulled out a silk bag from my pocket. "I was browsing in windows and stuff, and I saw a necklace in a window to a fancy store that caught my eye." I shook out the necklace and handed it to Embry so he could get a better look. The pendant was a white-gold oval about the size of a quarter, with a small diamond and a small sapphire, the exact same shade as Sera's eyes, sitting side-by-side to each other at the top. On the face on the pendant had etched words on it.

He stumbled over the words. _"Mon suel __rêve," _he read, "What does that mean?"

I pronounced it correctly and then told him. "It's French for 'my only dream.' I thought it was kinda perfect. She gets to have dreams about the future, but she's all _I _dream about." I shrugged.

It was true. I wasn't saying it to be a sap. Since I imprinted on her a year ago today – a year ago! – she's the only one I've ever dreamed about. Ever since I had that dream about us on First Beach, it had been a reoccuring one constantly. And I was completely okay with that.

He nodded. "That is perfect. I might have to get something for Allegra like this when she gets older. She started walking the other day, did you know that?" His face took on a proud expression.

"I was there when she started walking," I reminded him, but not condescendingly. I knew that all imprinters, including myself, loved nothing more than to talk about their imprints' achievements. I had told everyone in the pack at least 5 times that her first sentence was "I want Seth" when she first said it.

"Oh yeah," he said, scrunching his forehead. Allegra was a week-and-a-half old when she started watching Bella intently as she cooked, dancing around the kitchen to some 80's music. Allegra stood up and suddenly, out of no where, started walking around gracefully like she had been doing it her whole life (assuming she was older) and it was no big deal. It was funny that she learned grace from _Bella, _who back in her human days, couldn't even put one foot in front of the other without tripping on a flat surface, or any kind of surface, really. Embry took his imprint out for "celebratory ice cream" after that.

I smiled. "It's okay, happens to all of us. I like to call it a 'poud imprint moment.'"

"You would know, wouldn't you, Clearwater?" he said.

I grinned. "Absolutely. And she's turning a year old today. God, I can't imagine anyone more amazing that her. She's a year old and she's the most special person I know."

Embry rolled his eyes. "You sound like the rest of them."

I raised my eyebrow. "You've been an imprinter for what, almost two-and-a-half weeks now? Get used to the fact that you're on the same team as the 'rest of us,'" I air quoted.

Embry smiled to himself. "Yeah...guess I am now."

He didn't seem like he was suffering or unhappy about that fact in the slightest.

Jacob walked in through the door just then, holding Nessie's hand. Allegra walked in after them, and immediately bounded straight to Embry. His face lit up like a little kid's on Christmas morning when he picked her up.

"Hey, Allie-cat!" he said, and kissed her forehead.

"Allie-cat?" Nessie asked, smirking.

Embry smiled sheepishly. "Yeah...it's kinda traditional for the wolves to give our girls nicknames, right?"

He didn't outright say "imprint" anymore because Allegra was freakishly smart. She wasn't as smart as Sera (maybe that was the proud imprinter in me), but still too smart for her own good. Jacob and Nessie still didn't know if they should let Allegra in on the secret like Alice had let Sera, but the main reason Sera was told was because she had, for the most part, figured it out herself. Everyone was extremely careful with not slipping up around Allegra.

Even now, Allegra was looking at Embry with a mixed awe that was normal for imprints at this age. She was hanging onto every word he said, and it would be a major slip-up if he ever mentioned "imprinting" within earshot of her. I still remember when Seraphina would do the same to me, hang onto every word I said like it was the last word she would ever hear.

And now, she was a year old. She looked five. Her aging was slowing, but it was still rapid.

Sera was smarter than Nessie was at the age surprisingly. Sera was already fluent in Russian, Mandarin, Spanish, and French (hence the necklace). She was working on her Latin and Irish Gaelic right now (don't ask me what Gaelic is...it's a weird language, and even weirder to hear Edward and Alice speak it to her). It didn't matter though. Sera was too amazing to _not _be expected to be fluent in every language known to man.

Maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration. But she was on her way up to that point.

"Earth to Seth," Nessie said, snapping her fingers in front of my face.

"Wha-?" I said, blinking out of my daze and looking around.

I felt genuinely shocked to be standing in the kitchen. I could have sworn that I was with Sera in all the time I had been thinking obsessively about her. The thought of her made me miss her, like I was being punched in the gut. I _needed _to be with Sera. The good thing about living back at Forks, although temporarily, was that I slept in the same house she did, so I would always be around her. Now that I lived back in the seperate Pack house in Idaho, I had way too much downtime on my hands – especially when I wasn't with Sera. And it wasn't like I could pop into to La Push whenever I felt like or be too preoccupied about the "Embry mess" to worry about what I was doing with my free time. Yep, I definitely enjoyed being in Forks better.

But Sera was here, and I knew that if I was given the choice, I would choose her and Idaho every time.

"I think he needs another cup of coffee," I heard Jake mutter to Nessie.

"What?" I said, dragging myself back to reality for the second time.

"Nice to see you back on Earth, Clearwater," Embry commented.

"I was trying to ask you when you're planning on getting ready to go to your imprint's birthday party, but I mean, if you'd rather think about her than _see_ her..." Jake said, trailing off, raising his eyebrow at me.

"Sera. Birthday party. Right." I marched upstairs to go get dressed, listening to them snicker behind me.

I walked into my room to find Edward standing in it.

"Edward!" I greeted, giving my best friend the "bro hug." Yes, the bro hug. Don't make fun of me for it.

"Eddie's upstairs?" Jake yelled from the kitchen. I heard Nessie and Embry chuckle.

Edward growled. If there was one thing I knew about Edward, it was that he hated being called "Eddie." "Shut it, dog. And hello, darling," he called back, greeting Ness.

"Oh, Edward, you sweet talker, you," Embry called. Jacob, Renesmee, and I erupted into laugher. Embry was a lot of things, but that guy's sarcasm was hilarious.

Edward chuckled. "Hello, Embry," he said.

"This is all going so fast! Oh Edward, what ever will I tell my papa?" he said, pretending to be flustered. Oh dear.

Edward rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to comment." Embry, Nessie, and Jake all laughed.

He shook his head and looked at me. I then noticed the white box he held in his hand. "This is for you, from Alice. She's convinced that if she didn't dress you for important events, you would show up perpetually half-naked, or in your 'phasing clothes,' as she likes to call them."

"I know how to look presentable," I mumbled. I felt weirdly self-concious. I mean, just because I was a wolf and it was a lot more convenient to stay half-naked all the time doesn't mean I didn't know how to dress myself.

Edward nodded in agreement. "I tried to plead your case. But Alice is as stubborn about wardrobes as Sera is about not caring about wardrobes."

I shook my head at Sera and Alice's biggest disagreement. "I guess I take after Sera a little bit in that way."

He cocked an eyebrow. "Or she takes after you in that way."

I almost took a step back. I never thought about it like that. I always assumed that I was similar to Sera because I took after her in certain things, but it had never occured to me that I would be the one influencing _her. _She always just seemed really mature, and sometimes acted older than even me, therefore, she would be more the influenc_er _than the influenc_ee._ But now that Edward brought it up, it actually made a lot more sense. I could care less what I had on my body as long as it covered the necessary parts. Maybe she thought the same way because she had always preferred to be around me. And I always walked around half-naked.

Edward nodded. "It's true. You're a lot more influential to her life than you give yourself credit for."

Even though I knew in my heart of hearts for this to be true, it still came as a shock. But I should have known. I had been around ever since she was born. I had been one of the first faces she saw. I _should've _known that I was extremely influential to her life.

I still got a surge of pleasure when I heard that. _I _had influenced _her. _Someone as amazing of her, and I had gotten the opportunity – no, the _honor _– of influencing _her. _Seraphina Marie Cullen-Whitlock. My imprint. My only dream.

Edward laughed. "Hero worship."

I laughed too. "Maybe a little bit."

"I like the present, by the way. It fits her." Edward grinned at me.

"Thanks. It just screamed 'Sera,' so I couldn't pass it up." At this rate, she was going to have a piece of jewelry from me at every major holiday in her life. Her first Christmas, I gave her a Quileute promise bracelet, and for her first (real) birthday, I'd be giving her a fancy necklace.

"We just can't help but spoil our special ladies, now can't we?" Edward said, and winked. I nodded in agreement. I spoiled Sera as much as I could, probably more than what was recommended or normal.

Edward set the box on the bed and walked towards the window. "You know how to tie a tie, right?"

I rolled my eyes. "Alice really thinks I'm that dumb?"

He laughed. "Maybe not dumb, but incompetant."

"Aren't they the same thing?" I grumbled.

He grinned. "Fairly so."

And on that note, he stepped out the window and darted away.

I shook my head, and opened the box. A slender black tie rested on the top of a blue and white plaid shirt that looked like it would be a slightly tight fit, therefore would make my muscles stand out. Underneath were a pair of dark designer denim jeans that actually looked skinny, and a note: _I told Seraphina that she could wear her blue Converse with her outfit today, so I got you a matching pair. They're in your closet; -Alice._

With my curiosity spiked, I walked to my closet and opened my door. Sure enough, a pair of bright blue Chucks rested right in the middle of the closet floor. _Alice, _I thought to myself. It seemed like the universal explanation for all things.

I grinned at its brilliance. I slipped on my outfit, and then lastly, the bright blue Converse that Sera was in love with.

I had to hand it to Alice. I expected her to dress me similar to Edward or even Emmett with the khakis and pullovers, but I actually looked kinda awesome with my laid-back look. However, Alice was known for giving each person in the family a seperate style, and I guess mine was the leather jacket-and-plaid shirts style. I thought it was cool, so I would just roll with it. The jeans were kinda loose, but cut close to my body. I felt weird. I had never worn skinny jeans before.

I walked downstairs, and Nessie let out a low whistle. "Damn, Clearwater. Jake, don't get jealous, but Seth, you look hot."

Jacob frowned and I blushed. "Thanks, Ness. It's Alice's creation."

"Give Alice props when you see her," she told me honestly.

I laughed. "Is it that good?"

Nessie nodded. "Like I said, you look hot."

I shook my head, and Jacob continued to frown. "You didn't say anything about my outfit..." Jacob whined. He motioned to his plain white v-neck shirt, his leather jacket, and his dark jeans.

Nessie laughed. "Jake, you already know that I think you're just about the hottest thing that I've ever seen, so give Seth some slack."

Jacob grinned and relaxed. "Okay, I'm better."

I snorted, and Nessie rolled her eyes. Embry and Allegra were off in their little world, sitting at the kitchen table. Allegra was playing with her frilly dress, and Embry was looking at her like she was his personal sun and moon.

Jake rolled his eyes at them. "I'm ready to go. Let's get this show on the road."

* * *

><p>The Idaho driveway wasn't as long as the Forks driveway, but it was still draped with thousands of lights sparkling down the entire path. Alice was many things, but when it came to decorating and dressing people, she was a genius.<p>

It was a surprise for Sera, but the whole La Push gang, pack and imprints, was coming down for her birthday, a gift _a la Cullens. _How they managed to keep it from Sera, I had no idea.

The five of us got out of the car, and walked inside the twinkling house.

To say that it was amazing would be an understatement.

Blue and white streamers hung from every corner of every room. Twinkling lights draped the entry room, and wound all the way into the kitchen and living room. The posts and stairs were draped with flowers that had sweet scents that flooded my nose. Alice had draped every single piece of furniture in the house with dark blue and white cloth. It pretty much looked like the classiest little kid's birthday party I had ever been to. My mouth fell open with a _pop._

"Holy crap," I mouthed.

"Thanks," Alice said, appearing in front of me.

"This is amazing, Alice," I told her honestly.

She smiled. "Thank you, Seth. You don't think it's too much?"

It was my turn to smile at her. "It's Sera's birthday. Anything we do for her would never be too much."

She grinned. "Do you like your outfit too?"

I laughed. "Nessie said I looked hot. So yeah. I like this look you're going for."

Before she had a chance to respond, Sera emerged into the room. Her wild hair was tamed and pinned back with silver barretts. She was wearing a light blue dress with sliver streaks in it, and of course, the bright blue Chucks.

"Hey, that's funny, we have the same shoes!" I exclaimed, lifting my foot up to show her. Her entire face brightened.

"We're matching!" she said, and ran to hug my leg. I ducked down to kiss the top of her head.

"Happy birthday, Seraphina," I whispered to her.

She grinned at me. "Thanks."

"Woo! Let's get the party started!" Emmett boomed from upstairs, holding Rosalie's hand. She laughed at her husband.

"Happy birthday, Sera," Rosalie said, walking over to kiss her neice.

"Happy birthday!" Nessie yelled, and hugged her cousin tightly.

"Happy birthday," Edward said, kissing the top of her head.

"Another year older, eh? Is that a gray hair I see?" Bella said, smiling at Sera. Sera grinned.

"Happy birthday, darling," Carlisle said, emerging from the kitchen with Esme. Sera walked over to them, and Esme picked her up and kissed her forehead. Carlisle did the same.

They set Sera down, and she turned to look at her parents. They were hugging each other, grinning broadly at their daughter. Sera ran over to them and shot herself into their arms.

"Happy birthday, darlin'," Jasper said, hugging her close.

"Happy birthday, baby," Alice said, kissing her cheeks. Sera laughed.

"Thank you," she said sweetly. I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from saying "awwwww." If she could be any cuter, I would melt.

Edward chuckled at me, and I had to remind myself for the fiftieth time to stop such a sap.

I was so distracted that I didn't even hear them come in. "Whatchu talkin' about, there ain't no 'happy birthday' unless you get one from the Quileute wolves!"

Laughing, they all came in from the back as a group. Sera shrieked and burst out into laughter, and ran over to the group. You haven't seen a group hug until you've been surrounded by nineteen huge wolves.

All the imprints were there too. Quil had Claire, who was embracing Sera tightly. Then of course, the usual- Sam and Emily, Jared and Kim, Rachel and Paul. Collin had Darcy, who was actually a very pretty girl with auburn hair and gold-flecked green eyes. She was fairly tall too; close to 5'10. Who knows, maybe she was a model. There was the Volturi wolves, only one who had found their imprint; Kiowa, who had imprinted on a chick named Taylor, a petite blonde girl with a Southern twang. Jameson Spencer had Aria Uley wrapped around his leg. He had imprinted on the nine-year-old girl with her father's temper shortly after becoming a wolf.

I saw with a surge of pleasure that my mom, Billy, and even Charlie had showed up too. I grinned and ran to hug my mom.

"Congrats," she said to me.

"Thanks, Ma."

I let go of my mom, and turned to Billy. "Seth," Billy said, smiling.

I hugged Billy, and he carted himself forward to go hug his Jacob, who was hugging Rachel.

"Seth, how's Idaho treating you?" Charlie said as a way of greeting.

"Awesome. It's fun," I said, and shook his hand.

"Any college?" he asked curiously.

I shrugged. "Maybe."

I had given college a lot of thought before the Volturi visit and basically becoming a Cullen. Since then, it had never crossed my mind much. I had graduated early since I had good grades and took some extra classes online in the spare time I had. It was a good thing being in Jake's pack at that time, because he had agreed to give me as much time as I wanted to finish up my courses. I had passed my senior year with all A's, and I was only a junior when I did it.

But now, since I imprinted, I wasn't thinking of anything except Sera much.

"University of Washington has a good engineering program. Sue tells me you're a math and science whiz. It would be good for someone like you."

I couldn't deny it. I was in Advanced Calculus my "senior year," and took Advanced Physics and Advanced Chemistry as well, except I had to go back to the high school to take labs and such. I used to confuse Jacob and Embry incessantly whenever I thought about my homework, since neither of them finished high school and my homework probably looked closer to a foreign language than anything. But I couldn't help it; they were my strong subjects.

"I'll think about it," I told him.

Charlie nodded, and moved on to greet Nessie.

Collin slapped me on the back. "Hey man. How's the vamp coven treating you?"

I saw Darcy openly flinch and shudder when Collin said "vamp." He smiled apologetically, and rubbed soothing circles on her back.

I smiled warmly at her. "It's Darcy, right? I'm Seth. I don't think we've met before. I was in town a couple of weeks ago, but we must've missed each other."

She smiled. "Hey Seth. Yeah, I guess so. I mean, Collin and I just started recently going out, so..."

I had heard Collin complaining about this when we were in La Push. He had saved her life, and she had kissed him, but when she got home she must've snapped out of her shock of the time, and realized that she had kissed a guy that turned into a wolf. She spent a week avoiding him, even though he tried talking to her whenever he got the chance.

She had finally agreed to go on a date with him so he could clear the air, and surprisingly, he had ended up confessing everything. Even the imprint. Normally, that would be a first date screw-up, but it was hard to deny the power of an imprint, and it wasn't like he had to prove he could transform into a wolf or anything.

This girl had my respect. She was good with weird.

"I see. Well, Collin's like a brother to me, so trust me when I say that I've been in his head before, and he means well." I smiled at her, and Collin beamed.

Darcy peaked at Collin with her long eyelashes. It didn't matter if I was imprinted or not, I had to admit that Darcy was stunning. "I know he does."

The look she gave him said it all. I didn't know if she had said it yet, but she was definitely in love with him.

I moved on, and after greeting everyone individually, it started to settle down a little bit.

Paul and Brady had caught Emmett bragging about his Call of Duty skills, so they challenged each other to a three-way duel, and to say it was intense would be an underkill. I thought that Paul was going to phase when Emmett won the first couple times.

Alice had turned on some music, and some of the couples were dancing under the twinkling lights. Sera had dragged me out of the living room and made me dance with her just as _You and Me _by Lifehouse came on.

I picked her up and twirled her around in my arms. She giggled adorably.

"I wish I could have a birthday everyday," she said contentedly, looking around at everyone. Alice and Jasper, Sam and Emily, Claire and Quil, Jameson ad Aria, Collin and Darcy, Jared and Kim, Edward and Bella, and Kiowa and Taylor all danced around us. Leah and Jacob sat together in the corner, talking animatedly. Mom was holding Lucas, and Charlie and she were playing patty-cake with him. Rosalie sat next to Emmett while he played Call of Duty, but Brady was getting distracted Rosalie flipping her hair and crossing her legs in front of him. Rachel sat on the couch next to Paul, holding little six-year-old Mason Uley in her lap, shaking her head at his outbursts. Embry was feeding Allegra from a metal cup. Alex, Harrison, Josh, Kyle, Anthony, Ethan, and Gavin were all sitting at the kitchen table, talking with Carlisle and Esme and Nessie. I tried to stiffle my laughter as I saw a couple of them check out Nessie when she wasn't looking. Billy sat next to his daughter, talking to her and distracting her from her husband's violent outbursts.

I smiled and kissed her head. "It's a nice birthday. But that's what makes it special, is that is only happens once a year. And this one's extra special because it's your very first one."

She smiled too. "Mom did good."

I laughed, and from across the dance floor, Alice winked at us, and Japser grinned.

"I like your shoes, Seth," she mumbled into my neck. I laughed out loud again.

"I like yours too," I said.

The song ended, and I set Sera down. Collin and Darcy approached us.

"Wanna go outside? I'm getting a little hot," Darcy said to me.

"Sure. Is Sera invited?" I asked, smiling.

Darcy grinned. "Well, of course. This is her party, after all."

Sera smiled, and she took my hand in hers as we walked out to the back porch.

"So how are you guys doing?" I asked, settling in with Sera on my lap.

They smiled at each other. "We're doing great," Darcy said.

"That's good," I said honestly, "Well, Darcy, tell me about yourself. Where do you live?"

"I live on campus at the University of Washington. I'm a sophomore there. I'm hoping to get a degree in veterinary medicine."

I couldn't help my laugh. "That'll come in handy," I said.

She grinned. "I hope so. Call it intuition, I don't know."

This girl was actually pretty funny, and interesting to talk to. Unfortuantely, a lot of pretty girls relied on their looks and not much else, but Darcy seemed to be oblivious to how pretty she was, and what she was doing to Collin. Lots of pretty girls were air heads and couldn't hold a conversation that didn't revolve around themselves to save their life, but Darcy wasn't like that at all. And Collin soaked in every word she said, staring at her like she was a goddess. Sometime during the conversation, Leah, Jacob, and Nessie joined us on the porch, and then the conversation switched to more serious stuff.

"So you and Collin met in the woods, I hear," Leah said conspicuously. I almost nudged Leah. My sister was not subtle by any means.

Darcy shuddered, but then caught herself. "Oh, I'm sorry, that was...really rude." She eyed Nessie and Sera.

Nessie smiled good-naturedly. "Don't worry about it, Darcy. Truth be told, my family and the Denali coven, our cousins in a way, we're the only covens that are vegetarian. If I was human, I would feel uncomfortable around other vampires too." Nessie and Jacob laughed.

"Honey, you're half-human," Jacob reminded her.

She shrugged. "Half-human, half-vampire, all weird."

Darcy played with her fingers. "That...whatever he was...he told me he hadn't smelled someone as delicious as me in all of his one hundered and fifty years." Darcy couldn't help another shudder.

Nessie gave her a sympathetic look. "You were a singer," she said sadly.

Darcy looked up. "A what?"

"Well, everyone smells different. It'd be only natural that to seperate vampires, they all have different tastes, just like humans do. And when someone the perfect scent to the vampire, they call it a blood singer. That must've been you," she said.

Darcy gave her a wide-eyed look. "Is it like that for you, too?"

Nessie chuckled. "Not really. I mean, some people smell better than others, but that's just it – they're people. I drink animal blood and eat human food. I barely notice the smell of humans." She shrugged again.

Darcy laughed. "That's a relief I guess."

"Just out of curiosity, what did he look like?" Leah asked.

"Beautiful," she whispered, and looked down.

We all waited for her to continue. "He had red eyes," she said finally, "Dark, wavy hair, and he was tall – skinny, but tall. And he was pale and looked like he was made from marble. And I think he had a Russian accent, but he had really good English. I didn't even think he existed when I first saw him. But...he did. And he tried to kill me." A tear slipped from her eye.

Collin wrapped his arms around her protectively, and kissed her cheek. She smiled at him.

"And then Collin showed up," she said, "Well, Collin as a wolf. I thought I was going insane. I pinched myself a couple of times, and realized that whatever it was, it was saving me. And then he transformed back to a human. I couldn't help myself; I jumped up and went for it." We all laughed. "I talked to him, and he reassured me that I _wasn't _going crazy. I gave him my number, but then when I got home, it dawned on me that I had just kissed a wolf and that I was almost killed by a demon thing. So I avoided him, naturally." She gave Collin a sheepish expression. "But he's persistent. And...we had a bond that was hard to ignore." Collin gave Darcy a look of pure, utter devotion, and she blushed and looked away.

"Did he mention his name at all to you?" Jacob asked.

Darcy's expression turned thoughtful. "Yes. I asked him who he was and why he was in the forest, and he said his name was Nikolai, and he thought I smelled more delicious than anything he had ever smelled. That's why he followed me."

"Why were you in the woods?" I asked.

"Jogging. I have to stay in shape. I work part-time at a modeling agency to help pay for school and stuff." She shrugged.

Nessie laughed. "What kind of modeling?"

She smiled coyly and winked at Collin. "Lingerie."

I bit my lip to keep from bursting into laughter as I saw Collin's eyes widen. "You never told me that," he choked out.

She laughed. "You never asked."

He spluttered and she shrugged. "It's just something to help pay for school. I could really care less about it."

"But..._lingerie._" He said it like it was holy.

Jacob patted his back. "It's okay, cousin, I – "

He cut off as a single scent assaulted our nose.

The scent that made the hair on my neck stand up.

Nessie and Sera both sniffed the air and their eyes widened in alarm.

Jake, Collin, and I were already trembling, not to mention with our imprints outside.

Imprints. Outside.

Oh god, Sera.

"Everyone inside!" Jacob commanded, and the five of us darted inside.

"Vampire," Collin hissed.

That's all it took to make a peaceful party turn into a war zone.

Nineteen wolves all stood with trembling limbs.

"Boys, we're going to phase," Leah announced, taking those who still phased outside, leaving Sam, Jared, and Paul inside.

"The imprints?" Kiowa asked, looking at Taylor fearfully.

"The Cullens will stay and protect them," Leah announced.

Carlisle nodded. "We will."

We all ran outside and phased.

The scent assaulted our nose. This one was fresh. _Nasty, _Embry thought.

Leah spoke through Jacob's Alpha connection to us. _We're going to the left. I'm going with Harrison and Brady, since we're the fastest, and we're going to try to catch up with it. You guys – diverge and conquer._

We all did as she said. _Leah's right. The three of us will take the middle, and we'll chase this motherfucker down, _Jake said.

We burst through the woods, thick on this thing's trail. I could feel in my blood that we were gaining on it.

Leah's plan had worked out. We burst through the trees just as Brady and Harrison surrounded it, with Leah snapping mercilessly at his neck. The vamp kicked Leah's leg, and I heard a loud _snap._

Leah whimpered, and then growled, limping but still attacking. The sight of my sister hurt made me angry, and I lunged.

My teeth found purchase in its collarbone, and I ended up ripping off its arm. He shrieked, his dark hair falling back as he howled in pain.

I tossed the arm into the trees, and the others all pounced.

The vamp really didn't have a fair fight. The second we all jumped in, he was done for. It ended quickly.

Jacob phased back and started a fire with the lighter in his pants' pocket, tied securely around his ankle. Ethan and Embry helped him collect the pieces.

I went to go help my sister.

Leah phased back, and she was clutching her leg. "Fucking leech," she cursed.

I took a look at her leg. Even with the advanced healing, her leg was badly bruised and healing in an awkward position.

"Looks like it'll have to reset, sis," I muttered, "Sorry."

Leah shook her head. "Not your fault, bro."

Jacob walked over and looked at Leah's leg. "You can't walk all the way back, that looks bad."

Leah chuckled. "I'll live." She tried to stand up, but she fell right back down, and bit her lip to keep from yelping.

"Yeah right," he said. He bent down to pick her up.

"Some Alpha I am," she muttered to herself, and the others phased back and ran to the house. I stayed behind with my sister, her second Quil, her third Collin, Jacob, and Embry.

"You're a great Alpha, Lee," I said, "You just got hurt."

"Yeah,_ I_ followed your orders," Jake said, chuckling.

She rolled her eyes. "Well, I got used to bossing you two assholes around when I was your Beta, but you know. Someone had to make sure you weren't being vampire chew toys."

Jacob looked thoughtful. "You know, I never thanked you for that. You probably saved our asses more times than I ever had the decency to admit. Not from the Cullens, because they wouldn't hurt us, but...just in general. Whenever anything happened. So...thank you, Leah."

Leah grinned. "Your welcome. And thanks for giving me the opportunity to boss you around. Came in handy, especially with fifteen unruly teenage werewolves."

Jacob smiled. "You're welcome."

We emerged back at the house, and I mentally cursed myself for not bringing clothes. I had shredded all my other ones when I phased. I almost made the others wait in the trees just in case impressionable children were outside, but I was happy to see that there were clothes set out for all of us just at the forest line.

I pulled on a pair of Emmett's old khakis, and the rest of us did the same. I saw that someone had left out some of Esme's old clothes for Leah too.

Leah slipped the flowery print dress over her head. Thankfully, she didn't need pants, because she couldn't even stand on her own. Jake picked up Leah after we were all dressed and we all walked into the house.

Carlisle greeted us at the door, and took Leah into his cool arms and ran upstairs, followed by Edward and Jacob. The rest of us were unnatrually silent, except for the sounds of imprints embracing their wolves.

I went upstairs to go check on my sister, and I was surprised to see Sera following me.

"I want to see if she's okay," she said.

I nodded, and together, we walked into Carlisle's office.

"Leah, I'm going to deliver the pain medication – "

"Oh fuck, doc. Just break the damn bone. I broke it once, not so bad," she said, crossing her arms.

I mentally shook my head. Leah was gutsy, I had to admit. I walked over and let Leah grip my hand, and Jake had her other one. Carlisle placed his hands on Leah's leg.

"On three, one, two –"

Carlisle snapped Leah's leg. She gripped onto Jacob and I's hand until I lost feeling. She let out a low whimper, and panted.

"I-I'm okay," she panted, looking up at the ceiling to try to distract herself with anything.

"I'm going to put a brace on. Don't take this off until this heals." He slid a brace on, and Leah winced.

"When will that be?" she asked.

Carlisle smiled. "Well, considering you're a wolf, I would say you'd be okay by tomorrow."

Leah nodded and swung her leg over. "This part of being a wolf, I can deal with."

Sera walked over. "Leah, are you okay?" She placed a hand on her good leg.

But as soon as she did that, she yanked her hand back.

Edward raised his eyebrow, but Leah didn't notice. "Oh honey, I'll be okay. Sorry we ruined your party-"

"Who's Hayden Gale?" Sera asked suddenly.

"Hayden? She's a girl on the rez. Why?" Leah asked, confused.

"Because she's going to phase," Sera said simply.

Leah looked like her eyes were going to pop out of her sockets. "No way. A girl. Another girl wolf." Leah's smile spread across her face.

Sera nodded slowly. "She's going to phase in two days. There'll be a vampire that comes around La Push. She'll just be passing through though, she won't harm anyone. But that vampire will trigger Hayden to phase," she said matter-of-factly.

"Thanks for the heads up, Sera," Leah said, smiling.

Sera's sapphire eyes twinkled. "Your welcome."

We all emerged downstairs, and everyone crowed around Leah, asking what happened. I ntoiced that Darcy sat in the back, staring at her feet as Leah described fighting this thing.

In an effort to get some normalcy back, Alice announced cake and presents. There was still an electric buzz that was in the air after every fight, but everyone tried to settle themselves for Sera's sake. The wolves all got her something, and like always, Sera was extremely grateful for everything. Her favorite gift however, was mine.

"_Mon suel r__ê__ve," _she read in perfect French. Her little eyes filled with tears.

"Hey, hey, none of that. You like it, don't you?" I asked, suddenly afraid that she hated it.

Sera smiled. "I love it. Can you put it on for me?" She turned around and lifted her long hair out of the way so that I could clasp the delicate chain around her neck.

She touched it with her forefingers. "Thank you, Seth."

"You're welcome, kiddo," I said, kissing her forehead.

The Cullens all gave her something too, except on a larger scale. All-in-all, despite having to go hunt a vampire (which to some of the pack brothers wasn't bad at all; it was a thrill to them), Sera's first birthday party was amazing.

And like always, so was she.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Hoped you liked Sera's first birthday as much as I did. (:_

_Give me your feedback! What did you think of me bringing up Hayden Gale (she was a short mention, but shee'll be important later)? Darcy's story? Paul's death threats to Emmett and Brady? GIVE DEM TO ME~_

_Okay, that was stupid. Just ignore my idiocy.I'm writing this at 2 in the morning._

_Xoxo, Chels._


	11. Sera's San Francisco

_A/N: Soooo. Being sick and being on Christmas break means that I have loads of downtime, more than I ever want. So, I'm just gonna knock out this next chapter._

_This chapter and is going to be mostly fluff. And it's gonna be similar to my experience as to becoming a Giants fan. ;)_

_Thank you so much for all of your undying support, and all your lovely reviews. PLEASE keep them coming. They keep me wanting to write. (:_

_I hope everyone has a safe and merry Christmas. 3_

_Love you all so much,_

_Chels._

**Chapter Song: **_Save Me, San Francisco _by Train.

_"No city invites the heart to come alive as San Francisco does. Arrival in San Francisco is an experience in living."_

_~William Saroyan_

* * *

><p><strong>Seth POV<strong>

"So, tell me, Sera," I said, chucking the baseball back at her, "Why do you like baseball so much?"

I was in the backyard of the Cullen house in mid-March. The air was still crisp, and there was still snow, but you could make out signs of spring. The leaves were beginning to sprout again on the trees, the birds beginning to chirp, the weather turning slightly warmer each day.

Sera's face turned thoughtful as she chucked it back. "I'm not sure. It's the only sport you'll let me play without wearing lots of pads," she joked.

"Haha, you're hilarious."

Sera grinned, and opened her mit for the ball. I pitched it back into her hand. Her eyebrows furrowed, and she stared at the baseball in her hand for a long moment. "I guess just what it represents," she finally said.

I raised my eyebrow. "What does it represent?"

Sera furrowed her eyebrows again. "The American dream. You know, spending the weekend playing catch with a werewolf."

I laughed. "The definition of the American dream right there."

She rolled her eyes. "I don't know. It's fun, and I think the spirit of baseball is the best. It's different from football or even soccer. Football...it's too angry. Lots of big men smashing themselves against each other. Soccer is like that too, except it likes to hide the fact that it's an angry sport by not having a lot of padding and not outright tackling each other. They think they make it better by saying they can't use their hands."

I was actually surprised by her logic. She continued. "Baseball...it's more friendly. There's different fans. It's just...American."

I had to admit that I agreed with her. Baseball in general was just a more inviting sport. "So that's why you like it so much?"

She smiled coyly. "That, and not having to wear lots of padding."

I shook my head at her. "It's for your own good!" I complained.

She snorted. "My skin is indestructable."

"No one's ever tested that theory," I reminded her.

"I'm sure they have, since Nahuel is 150 years old and has a scientist for a father," she countered.

I blinked. I should have known. "You know, you'd make a good lawyer." Sera would make an excellent lawyer. Her counters were hard as steel. I had a secret dream that one day she'd get into it with an actual lawyer, and see who would win in that case.

She grinned. "Or a baseball player." She made her point by chucking the ball at me harder than normal, and it actually hurt my hand.

"Dang, anger management," I muttered, pulling my hand out of my mit and shaking it out. Sera's trilling laugh filled the backyard.

Later, we walked back inside the house with her perched on my shoulders, laughing and comparing who threw the hardest. It was a bit harder to do, getting in through the door, because Sera looked closer to 6 or 7 now, and although she was still relatively short, she was still getting taller. Alice emerged in front of us, looking more excited than I think I have ever seen her.

"Guess what," she sang.

Sera and I exchanged a look. "What do you foresee, Sera?" I asked. I did this a lot whenever someone had so-called "good news" (i.e., Emmett with the "good news" about the newest vampire scent around the house, Bella with the "good news" that a special edition of a Jane Austen book is coming out).

Sera raised her eyebrow and looked at her mom thoughtfully. "I'm not sure, but I think it has something to do with shopping, which means I'm going to hate it," she grumbled.

Alice laughed. "Right and wrong," she said, "It has something to do with shopping, but you're not going to hate it."

"Did Saks close down?" Sera asked hopefully. I snorted. _That _would be the day.

Alice looked like Sera had punched her in the gut. "What? Of course not! That's...no!" Alice looked close to crying just with the thought of her precious Saks closing down.

Sera sighed. "Darn."

Alice placed a hand on her hip and stared at Sera. "Sometimes, I don't think you're my daughter. I mean, I, Alice Cullen, raised a little girl that _hated _shopping!" she scoffed.

Sera shook her head. "I just hate shopping. It's stupid..." Sera caught her mother's expression and winced.

Alice harrumphed. "Well, I _still_ have good news. We're going to San Francisco!" Alice said excitedly.

That got Sera's interest. "Really? When? And why?"

Alice got a dreamy expression on her face. "Tomorrow. I just found out that Union Square is having a special runway show with all of the designer labels, and they're going to have the spring collection. So you, Rose, Japser, Nessie and I are going!"

Sera shook her head. "Seth too."

I blanched. "Um...do I have to?" Sera pinched me, and Emmett's booming laugh filled the air.

"Tough break, kid," Emmett called, watching the Rangers game. It was Rangers versus the White Sox, and the living room was tense. Edward and Nessie were die-hard White Sox fans, and Jasper and Emmett were all about the Rangers. They were screaming at the TV during every play. Jacob was sitting in the awkward middle, watching the four get really into the game, wearing his Mariners t-shirt and trying to be unbiased.

Alice rolled her eyes. "I don't see the point in baseball," she muttered.

"I don't see the point in shopping," Sera defended. "And Seth, you _have_ to go! Don't leave me alone with her! I'm the only one who won't like shopping. Not even Aunt Bella is going, and Daddy is too used to going on shopping trips with Mom, so he's not going to understand me!" She jutted her lip out at me, and it made it really hard to refuse the painful shopping trip, even though I knew I would hate every second of being dragged into endless high end stores until I finally would become cross-eyed witth words like "Prada" and "Chanel."

I didn't even get a chance to respond when she continued her tirade. "Jacob, why aren't you going?" she demanded.

He held up his hands in defense, completely ignored by his wife and in-laws, who were too into the game and too focused at shouting at the umpire to notice him. "Hey, hey, I didn't have a say in this. I mean, Ness likes fashion and all that garbage..." Alice sucked in a breath, and Jacob winced.

"_Garbage?" _she shrieked, "It's the _spring collection! _And-and..._Union Square! _That's the ultimate shopping district of the northwest coast!" Alice held a hand over her heart.

I felt like Jake had hit a major nerve. I tried to be easier with my words. "Um, Alice, I won't be much fun..." The look on Sera's face made me trail off.

Sera jumped from my shoulders and onto the ground, and turned to face me. She looked absolutely crushed. "You won't come?" she whispered.

My body started to quiver with desperation. I tried my hardest to resist, knowing that I would get crap for being a pansy (namely from Embry) if I didn't, but I couldn't look away from her face. Her sapphire eyes bored into mine, her lip jutting out and quivering ever-so-slightly, her shoulders slumped...she looked heartbroken.

I pretty much felt like the biggest ass in the world.

Aw, screw it. Shopping couldn't be _that _horrible. Could it?

"Okay, fine," I said, finally giving in. Sera's face brightening made it worth the pain I would surely be going through on this trip.

* * *

><p>Let me tell you, if you thought city traffic was bad, it's nothing compared to San Francisco traffic.<p>

I had my arm protectively around Sera and I was clutching the window handle like it was the most beautiful thing I had ever beheld. And trust me, with this traffic, it was.

Sera curled her body into mine in an almost protective way too. Alice's city driving was like Nascar through the urban center.

Jasper turned to look at me. "Seth, your nerves are ruining the peaceful atmosphere," he told me.

_What peace? _I thought to myself. I'm sure that if I looked at myself in the mirror, I would be as white as a ghost, and if I removed my hand from the window handle, there would be an indent where my fingers were. "Please tell Alice to slow down," I begged to Jasper. He got a crooked smile on his face.

"Oh, quit worrying, Seth. You're worse than Bella was when she was human," Alice informed me. I stared wide-eyed at the obvious escaped mental patient driving this car.

"Where's the nearest psychiatric ward?" I muttered, mostly to myself, but Alice's trilling laugh filled the car. I wasn't quite embarrassed that she heard that.

"Well, from my research on my old life, I was in an asylum before I was turned," she said happily. I shook my head, but that movement along with the jostling in the car almost made me sick.

"Alice, you're going to kill us, or someone else," I tried to reason with her as she narrowly passed through an intersection with a crosswalk full of pedestrians.

She snorted. "Of course I won't. What kind of person do you think I am?"

"A _crazy one,_" I emphasized.

Sera grabbed my hand. "We'll be okay, I don't think Mom would purposely kill us," she whispered.

I laughed without humor. "Nice try kiddo, but that doesn't make me feel better."

Sitting in the very back of the Suburban, Sera and I were getting the blunt of the jostling and turning. Rose and Nessie were sitting in the middle, Rosalie reading a magazine and Nessie listening to her iPod. I was too stressed out and a little too car sick to do something to distract myself.

Sera was absent-mindedly sketching her dream from last night. It was a picture of a tall woman with curly hair.

Then she began drawing a man. At first glance, I couldn't tell who it was. But a few minutes later, the details came together – his chin, his deep set eyes.

"Is that Embry?" I asked her.

She looked up at me. "Yeah. And that's Allegra." She pointed to the tall woman with curly hair.

I lifted up the sketchpad to get a better look. Allegra was actually quite beautiful. Her curly hair hung down to her small waist, her eyes sparkling, and her grin was a lot like Jake's, fun-loving. Embry had his arms wrapped around her, and they were laughing joyously. I noticed that his face was perfectly clear of anything he went through with Ness. My eyes widened at the sketch.

"Allegra?" I asked incredulously. She looked a lot like Nessie, but you could see Jake in her features. Nessie wasn't short, but she wasn't tall either. Allegra had to be close to 6 feet, especially standing next to Embry, if this picture was accurate, taking after her dad in that way.

Nessie turned around in her seat and pulled her earbuds out. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Can I show her the picture?" I asked Sera. She smiled and nodded at me. I passed Ness the picture.

Her mouth dropped in shock and awe. "Allegra looks so beautiful...and happy..."

She looked at Sera. "You saw her this happy?"

Sera smiled and nodded. "Allegra will be very happy when she's older."

Nessie didn't know what to say. She handed the sketchpad wordlessly.

Nessie stared at Sera in amazement, but Sera didn't notice. She simply looked at the picture ruefully.

"I wish I had color pencils," she grumbled, touching Embry's bicep with her forefinger a little sadly.

"I'll get you some if you want," I told her, playing with a strand of her hair.

She smiled at me, and continued to shade her picture in until it looked so realistic I almost thought it was a photograph.

We finally reached the hotel. I scrambled out of the Suburban, and I almost fell to the cement ground and kissed it. I would have to ask Nessie or Rosalie to drive next time.

Something about Jasper said he wouldn't be a much better driver than Alice, especially by the shit-eating grin he was giving me.

I shared a room with Sera, while Rosalie and Nessie shared another one, and Jasper and Alice had their own room. But room would be a bit of an understatement.

Suite was more like it.

It was like a palace. Our room was bigger than the entire downstairs of my old house. Gold draperies hung from the wall, next to the designer sheets and designer sofas with 1,000 thread count, the kind that made you want to curl up in a ball and never want to leave the bed you were so comfy.

I looked outside the window, and realized that we were in walking distance of Union Square.

No wonder we were living like royalty. We were in the upper district now.

We were in Alice Cullen territory.

I had barely put down my suitcases when Alice was already herding us out the door. "C'mon, you guys wanted to see San Francisco!"

"Alice, there's a difference from _seeing_ San Francisco, and seeing San Francisco from a _shop window_," I told her.

Alice's face puckered. "Just a few stores. I promise."

I raised my eyebrow, not totally believing her, but nodded.

I shouldn't have trusted her.

Letting Alice loose on Union Square was like turning a hungry Doberman over to a piece of meat. I was shocked and a little scared.

First, we of course went into Saks. Sera and I sat on one of their ridiculous designer couches with the ridiculous real fur pillows while Rosalie, Nessie, and Alice shopped, talking about weird brands called Alexander whatever and Diane von Something. I thought it was stupid that the people who started these companies were so egotistical that they named high-end brands after themselves.

I looked outside, and the models were beginning to line up on Union Square. I sighed. They were only _beginning _to line up. Menaing we still had a _long _ways to go.

Sera was staring at one of the TV's, leaning on her hand watching with boredom as one of the many models walked down the catwalk for some egotistical brand. I nudged her. "You okay?"

She sighed and sat back up. "I don't get why they think this is fun," she said honestly.

We both simultaneously looked over at the trio. Rosalie emerged from the dressing room, wearing a sparkly ball gown which I didn't know when she would ever wear, but hey, if it floated her boat. The sales assosciate began clapping in appreciation and complimenting her.

"Aunt Rose is pretty," she said, sighing and looking down at her shoes. They weren't bright blue Converse; no, Alice wouldn't have let her daughter dress like that going into designer stores. She was wearing a pair of designer tennis shoes that I recognized were Chanel because of the logo and because Seraphina was complaining about her "stupid Chanel shoes." She was wearing black leggings, a denim skirt, and a dark blue _blouse_. I tested that new word out tentatively. Alice had explained her outfit to me when I asked her why Sera was wearing spandex pants, which proved how much I actually paid attention to fashion.

"You're prettier," I told her, putting my arm around her. I couldn't even see myself thinking out her like that (the thought kinda made me want to throw up in my mouth a little bit), but she was still prettier than any girl that ever existed.

She smiled and looked back down at her shoes. "I think you're just saying that."

I laughed out loud, earning a glare from a different sales associate. I grimaced, and tried to look anywhere except at the death glare. I felt so uncomfortable that I thought I was going to burst from my skin, which was a totally plausible event. "I think it's time we leave."

Sera looked at me with wide eyes. "Really?"

I nodded, and met eyes with Jasper, who looked like he was a statue, perpetually patient. He'd obviously been on many of these shopping trips. I waved him over.

"Yes?" he asked, approaching us.

"Can I take Sera out into the city? Leave Union Square for a little bit?" I asked.

I could feel Sera pleading silently with her eyes next to me, so I knew that it would all be over soon, especially with Jasper. Sera was a Daddy's girl, and she had him wrapped around all of her fingers _and _toes.

He sighed, and looked back at the girls, who were completely distracted. "Go for it."

I was actually a little surprised. "Really?"

He chuckled. "Seriously. Go for it. You two look miserable, and I agree. Sera should see what San Francisco looks like beyond Union Square."

He glanced over at Alice, who was wearing a red gown. His eyes got dreamy. "Be back whenever," he said dismissively, and glided over to his wife. He bent down and wrapped his hands around her waist, looking at her like she was a masterpiece of fine art.

I blinked and the turn of events. I thought he would turn us down for freedom. "Wow."

Sera was standing, hopping up and down with an exasperated expression, earning another glare from the mean sales associates. "Seth, _please _get me out of here," she begged.

I laughed and sat up, trying to be as conspicuous and annoying as possible for the crabby ladies. "Don't need to tell me twice."

When we finally let Saks, we practically ran away from Union Square. I counted at least 8 different high end stores that Alice would have surely taken us to, and I was suddenly liking my plan more and more.

We slowed when we reached Market Street. When I was twelve, my family and I took a trip to San Francisco, so I was familiar with the area. I had always remembered that Market Street was my favorite, because of all the sights and sounds of the people selling their stuff on the street.

Sera looked absolutely dazzled by all the different people walking around. San Francisco itself, among many things, was known for its wide variety of pedestrians, and it surely didn't disappoint. That was the first time I think Sera ever saw someone with pink hair.

My stomach was growling, so we hopped in a taxi and had them drive us to Fisherman's Wharf for a bowl of the world-famous clam chowder. My mouth was watering before we even got there.

Sera was smiling ear to ear as we walked hand-in-hand down the Wharf. We found a restaurant that sold the soup, so we got three bread bowls – two for me and one for her. She took one bite, and her eyes rolled back into her head. I had to stop myself from laughing at her expression.

"Oh my god," she moaned, "This is superb."

A young couple stopped and turned to Sera, a little girl that looked six and spoke with perfect diction, and used the word "superb." I motioned with my eyes to them for Sera, signalling she should "act her age," so to speak.

She grimaced. "Like, this is the freaking most awesomest thing I ever tasted," she gushed.

The couple seemed pleased, but obviously confused by this answer, and walked away. I sighed in relief.

"That good, huh?" I asked, finishing off my first bowl.

She nodded. "Why don't we have this in Washington?"

I laughed. "Because it's a San Francisco thing. Not even all of California has this."

She blinked, and looked at her soup. "I like San Francisco so far. Even Union Square isn't that bad when I don't have to shop."

I nodded. "I agree. I like the art they put up there."

They also had the Christmas Tree standing there every December. It was huge, and it was decorated, and it was beautiful.

After we finished our bread bowls and watched the beginning of the sunset, we continued to walk around the area. Somehow, we ended up on the topic of baseball again.

"What's your favorite team, Seth?" she asked, kicking a rock.

I smiled slyly. "The Mariners."

She rolled her eyes. "Figures."

"What?"

"That's the only team I've ever seen someone from Washington cheer for. They're not even that good."

I sucked in a shocked gasp and pretended to be offended. "They are _too _good!"

She raised her eyebrow at me. "How many times have they been to the World Series?"

I opened my mouth and closed it. The truth was too terrible. _Zero times, _the pitiful voice inside my head that rooted for the Mariners echoed.

She smirked. "Exactly." She picked up her rock and threw it, skipping across the ground more times than someone with normal strength could have done. She muttered "oops," and I was just thankful that no one was in sight. I then asked her the question I had been dying to know.

"Well, what's your favorite team?" I demanded.

She grinned. "Don't have one."

"Really?" I asked. No one just _didn't _have a favorite team.

"The house is divided. Daddy and Uncle Emmett like the Rangers, Nessie and Uncle Edward the White Sox. You and Jake like the Mariners. Aunt Rose and Aunt Bella like the Yankees. I don't choose sides."

"Bella likes the Yankees? And why does Edward like the White Sox?" I asked.

"I don't know why Aunt Bella likes the Yankees. Maybe to make Uncle Edward mad, I'm not sure. Uncle Edward likes the White Sox because he's originally from Chicago. Aunt Rose likes the Yankees because she's from New York, and Daddy and Uncle Em like the Rangers because they're both Southern,"she said informatively.

I nodded. "If you had to pick a side..."

She grinned. "I can't do it."

I laughed, and pointed to the Giants stadium. "You a Giants fan?" I asked.

She laughed. "If I ever saw one of their games, maybe."

I suddenly had a brilliant idea. "Well, we don't have to be back, and the runway show probably just started, why don't we go see a game...now?"

She blinked in shock. Personally, I wanted her first game to be a Mariners game so that she could see the true majesty that was the Washington state team, but we were in San Francisco, why the hell not?

"You're serious?" she asked.

"If you want to go...I'll take you," I told her, smiling.

She started to jump up and down excitedly. "Can we, Seth?" she pleaded.

I grinned. "If you want to."

She squealed, and jumped up to hug me tightly. "Let's go!" She jumped down, and grabbed my hand to start towing me across the bridge to get to AT&T Park.

We were in luck. The game started at 7:15, and it was 6:30. With the recession, people couldn't afford the front row tickets, but with the wad of cash I was handed before I left the Cullen's house, I could easily pay for the diamond seating and then some. You know, the seating right behind home plate that had waiters serving you? That was diamond seating.

The ticket clerk looked shocked as I pulled out my wad of cash and handed him the bills. Sera was too excited to care, looking at all of the people selling concession. I would have to get her something.

"That your daughter?" the clerk asked as he rung me up.

I almost did a double take. Did I _look _like Sera? I was a huge Native American man, and Sera was a pale, blue-eyed little girl. Except for the hair, _maybe,_ I didn't even resemble Sera in the _slightest._

I was just about to correct him, but Seraphina Marie, future attorney at law, stepped in. "Eew!" Sera complained, looking at the cashier, "He's my _best friend,_ you repugnant dolt!"

I had to stiffle my laughter. Translation: repugnant dolt = nasty idiot.

The cashier got a surprised look on his face. "Is that...German?"

I almost face-palmed myself.

Sera looked offended. Maybe by his stupidity, I didn't know. "No. Absolutely not," she almost hissed. I put my hand on her shoulder to remind her to calm down.

The cashier's mouth dropped, and with shaking hands, handed me the tickets. "I – uh, have a nice evening," he muttered, still staring at Sera in awe. Sera was starting to figet uncomfortably, realizing her error. Sera looked seven. Seven-year-olds didn't say "repugnant dolt." Or almost hiss at people.

I growled at the cashier, and he stared at me in shock.

"C'mon, Sera," I said, grabbing her hand, glaring at the cashier one last time, pissed that he had made _my _girl feel uncomfortable. Sera lifted her head and walked away with dignity. He stared at us as we sauntered away.

"Sera, you have to control yourself better," I whispered, "You almost slipped up."

"I know," she muttered miserably, looking down at the ground.

"Hey." I got down on my knee and lifted her chin up to face me. "You are the most special person I know. Everyone knows you're three times smarter than that idiot working in that booth, but...you just have to be a little more careful of how you show it." I added in a lower voice, "You still look seven."

She gritted her teeth. "I want to grow up faster."

I smiled. "Just enjoy being a kid. Trust me, it'll sneak up on you fast enough." I took one long look at her and sighed. I knew that Sera couldn't wait to grow up, but she had such a small time to be a child that she might as well enjoy it.

"C'mon, let's get to our seats," I told her, grabbing her hand despite her still kinda-grumpy attitude.

That attitude lasted about 0.5 seconds when we got to our seats.

"Wow, this is amazing!" she exclaimed, staring in awe at how close we were to the plate, and all the people filing in and out of the rows.

The diamond seating was mostly deserted except for a middle-aged man in a tuxedo that was sitting at the opposite end of us, his arm around a bleached blonde girl that looked kinda like a porn star. He raised his eyebrow at us, but turned back to his date, or whatever that girl was.

What was so weird about us? Our clothes were a bit out of place for diamond seating. Despite her designer clothes, Sera still looked pretty casual. I was wearing a a white v-neck shirt, dark jeans, and black Converse, pretty casual too.

Maybe we looked like we snuck in here or something.

The Giants were playing the Dodgers, their long-standing rivals. Catcalls were being thrown at each other at the splitting line of the Giants and the Dodgers fans in the stadium, which Sera and I watched with amusement. The business man wasn't even paying attention, and he and his girlfriend were making out. Sera looked over at the couple.

"Why are they doing that?" she whispered to me.

And of course it got worse. His girlfriend, who was starting to looking less like a girlfriend and more like an escort, climbed on top of his lap and continued the make-out session. I fought the urge to cover Sera's eyes.

"They...like each other, I guess," I muttered, trying to think of all the ways I could distract Sera.

Usually, when any of the couples in the house were being "overly-romantic," Sera would just look away and do something to amuse herself, like read or draw, or we would just leave the room all together and play a sport outside. But she watched with a weird fascination as it quickly shot past PG-13 level.

"Hey!" I yelled over at them, and they jumped apart like they had been electrocuted. The man turned his gaze to me, and narrowed his eyes menacingly. Or what he thought was meancing.

I gestured to Sera with an exasperated look on my face that clearly said, "have some respect, we're in public and a child is watching you dry hump each other." The woman had the decency to blush and return to her seat. The man looked at me like I had just punched his grandma.

Turning away for good measure, I watched the game start, but made sure to sneak glances over at the happy couple to make sure they weren't ruining my imprint's innocence (or what was left of it after that).

Sera turned her attention back to the game, as the Dodgers entered the field. It was mostly met with some _boo_s and a small amount of cheering from the dedicated pocket of blue and white at the line where the seats were split up from "us" and "them." The Giants walked into the stadium after that, any any booing that would have gone on was quickly drowned out by the deafening roar of the fans.

Sera cheered right along with them. I watched with amusement as Sera stood up on her chair and screamed "GO GIANTS!" over and over again. With a quick prayer asking for forgiveness from the Mariners god, I screamed along with her.

"Excuse me, miss, but I'm going to have to ask you to sit down," said a monotone voice from behind us. A woman that was dressed more like a plane stewardess than a worker for a baseball stadium came up from behind us, while plastering on a fake smile and pretending to be having a good time wherever she went.

Sera nodded and complied, but I rounded on her. "Where were you a few minutes ago when the happy couple over there were making out and ruining my...my client's innocence?" I said. I didn't know why I said "client," but I suddenly had a brilliant idea. I would have fun with this.

She looked genuinely shocked. The business man over there and his girlfriend looked a little shocked too. "Client?"

Sera had an amused smile on her face as I fabricated the "cover." "Yeah, client. The 'miss' you were telling to sit down has a real estate tycoon, a very powerful one, for a father. We took the private plane out to see the Giants play their rivals, since it's Seraphina's favorite team." I shrugged nonchalantly, wrapping my arm around Sera, who was trying her hardest not to laugh.

She raised her eyebrow. "And who are you supposed to be?"

I grinned. "Her bodyguard."

The woman's mouth dropped. "She needs a bodyguard?"

I leaned in closer like I was telling her a big secret. "Her father is powerful, and the miss is smart." I squeezed Sera's shoulder.

She took a step back. "Oh, uh...I-I'm sorry. I'm sure she'll be safe with you next to her if she stands on that," she said, taking in my size and my posture.

I nodded once, trying to look all business. "Thank you."

"And what should I call you, mister..." she trailed off.

"Clearwater."

"Mr. Clearwater, and Miss..." she added on, looking at Sera in awe.

Sera raised her head like she was royal, and I fought the urge to snort. "Whitlock. I am a Whitlock," she said, and she sounded a little hurt for good measure. I also gave her the fist-bump. She was a good actress!

The woman actually bowed to her. I bit my lip to try to stop laughing. "Miss Whitlock, I am so sorry. Please feel free to do anything you like with Mr. Clearwater," she said humbily.

Sera continued her faҫade. "I'll be sure to tell my father how nice you were to me," she said, playing exactly the right amount of being child-like and poise at the same time. It was freaking awesome.

She nodded one last time, and with a relieved smile on her face, walked away, still bowed and not turning her back on us until the last second.

Sera and I grinned at each other. "So, Miss Whitlock, can I get you something to drink?" I asked.

Sera grinned back at me. "Why certainly, Mr. Clearwater."

I waved over a waiter, so practically ran over to me. "Y-Yes, Mr. Clearwater?"

"The miss would like some Coke, please," I said dismissively.

The waiter scampered off and came back in a time that I was sure would make the Guiness Book of World Records for fastest drink delivery. He handed the drink to Sera in the most gentle way possible, as if she was the Queen of England. _Rightfully so, _I thought smugly.

"Thank you," she said sweetly in her ringing voice, and I swear, the boy almost cried, as if he couldn't believe she was talking to him. "Anything you want, Miss Whitlock," he said, and scampered back.

After the National Anthem, the Dodgers came up to bat, on the second swing of the first hitter, Business Man approached us.

"I'm sorry if my actions have offended you in any way," he said a little too confidently, grinning at Sera and not even acknowledging me. I fought the urge to growl.

"It's all right," Sera said, trying to look around him at the game. I bit my lip again to keep my laughter down.

"It's Miss Whitlock, right?" he said, extending his hand to Sera. She cocked her eyebrow, and shook his hand gently.

"My name is Richard Phills, and I own a corporation downtown that manufactures furniture. I think I can maybe strike a deal with your father-"

"Excuse me," I said, cutting him off with a hard glare, "She is seven. She is here to enjoy her favorite team play baseball, not worry about people telling her what to do or watch people make out or talk about her father's successful, but tiring business. We're on holiday." I made my voice indicate clearly for him to leave us alone.

"I...I am sorry, truly," he said, glancing at my posture. I had my arm protectively around Sera and I was angled in between them, and I looked like I was about to jump up and beat the crap out of him.

"No harm, no foul," I said dismissively, and turned my attention back to them game and effectively ignoring Business Man, who, in my mind, was still Business Man and not Dick Phills or whatever.

Hehe, Dick Phills. Dick Phills what?

I glanced over at the blonde chick, who was giving off the scent of...arousal. I crinkled my nose. That was just rude, especially in public.

Dick Phills that girl, apparently.

Dick Phills blinked, and muttering unintelligably, stalked away to go sit next to his date again.

The Dodgers effectively struck out without even getting a guy to first base, and the entire stadium cheered as Aubrey Huff stepped up.

Sera stood on the chair again, cheering Huff's name, and screaming and jumping up and down as he hit a triple on his first hit.

Posey got up next, and suddenly, the entire stadium was full of girls screaming his name and various signs that wrote, "MRS. BUSTER POSEY." He waved good-naturedly and got in place to hit.

Posey hit a home run on his second swing. Sera ran to the chain fence and screamed "GO GO GO, HUFF, GO! POSEY, GO!" She was jumping up and down, cheering.

I grinned. Sera was having a good time.

The entire game progressed like this. Business Man kept glancing over at us, as if something about our demeanor would signify we changed our mind, but Sera was still really into the game, and I was still having a great time without worrying about his stupid business ventures.

I joked with Seraphina that the Seventh-Inning Stretch was for people who had been sitting the entire time, not running to the fence and screaming her head off repeatedly. She slapped my shoulder, and then asked for a refill. Being that I was her personal slave and fake bodyguard, I did as she asked.

When the Giants won the game 6 to 2 by the 9th inning, Sera's voice was getting hoarse, but she still had the broadest smile I had ever seen on her.

I quickly escaped Business Man/Dick Phills, Plane Stewardess Lady and Zippy the Drink-Deliverer before they could worship our existance and fake persona any more. We went up to the top level where they were selling merchandise and where we were still Seth and Sera.

Throughout the game, she had been obsessed with Huff. On every single bat, he had hit at least a double or a triple, even one home-run. She had called out his name more than any other person on the team.

When we left the store, she was proudly donning a #17 Huff jersey which was an Adult's Small, because she would eventually grow into it, and I know she'd want to wear it when she was older and bigger. Right now, it hung a little past her knees so she looked even smaller than normal, but she didn't care. She had a permanent grin plastered on her face. I bought her a foam finger and a Giants hat as well.

Muttering to myself about how the Mariners god was probably so angry with me that he would purposely make them lose every single game after this, we quickly got the hell out of there just as I saw the back of Dick Phills' bleached blonde date's head walking in the opposite direction. It looked like they were arguing. Looked like Dick wasn't getting _his _fill tonight.

The time showed 10:09 when we finally emerged back onto the street. I gave Jasper a call.

"Hey, where are you guys?" he asked.

"We just saw a Giants game. I'm sorry dude, I just converted your daughter. You should see her right now. Head-to-toe Giants merch."

Sera whispered, "Let me talk to him."

"Jasper, Sera wants to talk to you," I informed him.

"Put her on," he said in an amused voice.

Sera put my phone to her ear and immediately started talking in her hoarse voice. "Daddy! The Giants won 6 to 2, and Huff was _awesome! _He hit a home run, and every single time he went up to bat he hit a double or a triple! And Lincecum pitched great – "

"You've gone over to the dark side!" he exclaimed, amused.

Sera laughed. "I've gone over to the black and orange side. Sorry, Daddy."

Sera handed me back the phone. "We're on our way back to the hotel. See you in a few," I told him.

Jasper laughed. "Okay. I want to see her in her Giants stuff," he said.

I was laughing when I hung up the phone. "Let's get back to the hotel."

We spent the entire way back talking about the Mariners and the Giants, and I was complaining how I probably angered something so much that they were going to force the Mariners to lose every game after this. Sera continued to gloat about the Giants, her now official favorite team. We started talking about Fisherman's Wharf and basically anything and everything San Francisco related.

We finally got back to the hotel, and we went straight to Japser and Alice's hotel room. Japser opened up the door, took one look at his daughter, and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Remind me to slap you one of these days," he muttered at me, still taking in Sera. She grinned and hugged my leg.

"Dad, you're a real-estate tycoon," she informed him.

It was too much. All the laughter I had been holding in at that time burst out, and I ending up having to lean on the wall for support. Sera joined in, and Alice watched with amusement but confusion.

"I'm not going to ask," she said, shaking her head, and smiled at Sera.

"Did you have a good time?" Alice asked Sera.

Sera nodded. "Yeah! Seth and I walked on Market Street, and then we went to Pier 39 and ate, and then we went to the game."

"Sounds like you had fun," she said, winking at me. I grinned.

"It was fun. But I'm beat," I admitted.

Jasper nodded. "Go to bed with Miss Giants over here," he said.

"Actually, it's Miss Whitlock," she called as we ran down our suite, laughing the whole way.

* * *

><p><em>AN: FLUFF! I'm glad I could write some fluff. (: Fluff makes me happy._

_In case you haven't noticed, I am a HUGE Giants fan. Aubrey Huff is going to be my future husband. I just know it._

_But it's okay, I don't mind sharing him with Sera for this story. ;)_

_I hope everyone has an AMAZING AND WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS, full of holiday cheer, lots of presents, and surrounded by family. And hot cocoa. Lots of hot cocoa._

_Snowflakes and Reindeers and Jingle Bells,_

_Chels. _


	12. Birthday Surprises

_A/N: A little fluff in this one too! Yay? (:_

_We're getting into the preteen years. Joy! Kinda (everyone knows being a preteen sucks)._

_Seraphina is physically going to be nine or ten. This is her second birthday._

_Okay, I seriously love you guys. I've gotten nothing but positive reviews, gushing about how you guys love my fanfiction. I wish I could adopt every single one of you guys and keep you forever. You make me feel warm and fuzzy inside. (((((:_

_I HOPE YOU ALL HAD AN AMAZING CHRISTMAS. _

_-Chels._

**Chapter Song: **_Sparks Fly, _by Taylor Swift.

"_It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them."_

_~Ralph Waldo Emerson_

* * *

><p><strong>Seth POV<strong>

Back in La Push! I breathed in the damp air, the smell of forestry, the salt-and-brine of the ocean. It was home.

No, I couldn't say that anymore. Home was wherever Sera was. There would be nothing for me if she wasn't there, simply existing in the same place I was.

But for now, Sera was in La Push, her favorite place in the world, so home was firmly here, in the rainy Olympic Penninsula.

Sera and I were walking hand-in-hand down the beach, our favorite beach.

First Beach, of course.

I couldn't help but think with a little sadness about how fast she was growing. I looked down at our joined hands, wishing it could just stay like this forever; Sera and Seth, being able to hold hands without meaning anything. The older she got, the more people would assume things. But I would be happy to spend eternity as her best friend, and see her just stay Sera.

We sat on a white-washed log, looking out into the ocean. The day was overcast with very little sunshine, so it painted the world gray and bleak.

Our moods were quite the opposite, however. I was ecstatic to be back in the place I grew up with all of my brothers. Sera was not only happy that she was _here,_ but she was here for _tomorrow._

It's not every day that your imprint turns two.

Sera...was beyond words. She was smart, talented, and literally the most adorable thing I have ever set my eyes on. Her dark hair hung to her lower back today, natural, so it looked unruly and untameable, like her personality.

Oh god, like her personality.

Everyone knew that Sera had spunk. But I don't think they were betting on the amount of spunk that she had. Once Sera set her mind to do something, there was virtually nothing you could do to stop her. Sera on a mission was a sight. One time, Sera set her mind to master the guitar. However, her fingers were too short, because she was only physically eight at the time and a full-sized guitar was hard for her to handle. When Rosalie offered to get her a smaller guitar, she almost cried with shame. There was nothing that was going to stop Sera from learning on _that _guitar.

She spent a week straight with her aunt, forfeiting even her precious sports and not even watching the Giants game, learning chords and learning how to cope with her fingers. It was a miracle when she played her first song with zero mistakes. It was hard, but she had done it.

That was the story of her life. There wouldn't be anything that would stop that girl.

I heard her huff impatiently beside me.

I looked over at my girl. She was staring out into the ocean with a deep furrow in her eyes, looking like she was thinking really hard about something, but coming up short.

If I knew anything about Sera, it was that Sera _hated _not being able to figure things out.

"What is it?" I asked.

Sera kicked a shell, and it flew twenty feet into the ocean. I raised my eyebrow at her.

"I keep seeing blurry stuff in my dreams," Sera muttered, playing with her jean pocket, "It's annoying."

"Blurry stuff?" I asked, hoping my voice didn't squeak with worry.

Sera nodded but didn't look up. "Of people. Humans. Women. They are all faceless and blurry, but they all end up getting blotted out by darkness, and then my whole vision goes red. I've never had dreams that weren't crystal clear. I don't understand."

"Wait, your vision goes _red?_" I was pretty positive that my voice squeaked that time.

She nodded again, finally looking into my eyes with her expressionable, dark blue ones. They were full of confusion, and even a little anger. "Yeah. It's all the same. I know they're women because of the silhouette, but it's always the same – women, being taken in the night from their homes, and then blotted out by darkness. And when they finally scream or make a sound, my vision goes red and suddenly I can't hear anything. And I can't move. It's like, swimming through molasses. And then I feel doubtful of myself, and I wake up, wondering if any of it was real." Her eyebrows furrowed.

I pulled her into my chest, and I felt her breathe my scent in deeply. She once told me that my scent was as comforting to her as her scent was to me. "Has anyone talked to you about this? How long has it been going on?"

"I asked Mom about it. She doesn't know what they are either. And for a week or so, I guess," my mumbled into my shoulder.

A _week? _I pulled her back to look into her face with a little bit of shock. "This has been going on for a _week, _and you said _nothing _to me, Seraphina?" I said in a voice barely over a whisper.

She blushed a little and looked down. "I know I should have said something, but I just feel so..._doubtful_ about it all the time."

I shook my head at her before she even finished her sentence. "No. Always say something. Have you been drawing about it?"

This time, she looked scared. "Every time I try, I can't grasp the picture. It's too fuzzy for me. What's wrong with me, Seth?" she whispered.

I felt her fear and confusion and anger leak into me through our connection. I hugged her tighter, and this time I didn't let go. "Honey, nothing's wrong with you. This is all really new, especially since you're one of a kind, so it may mean something completely different than what you think."

She nodded. "Yeah, I guess." She didn't seem so convinced.

I nudged her shoulder lightly with my fist. "Come on, kid. Stop worrying all the time. So what, for once in your life, you don't know what's going on." I smiled at her my patented Seth-smile.

She rolled her eyes. "Speaking of..." She put her hand to my forearm, and then pulled her hand back almost immediately, like I had shocked her.

She stood up with a brilliant smile, jumping up and down and screaming "THANK YOU SETH, OH MY GOD THANK YOU!" She flew into my arms and gave me a huge hug, and I was left confused but laughing.

"What did I do?" I asked, still smiling like a jackass, but confused nonetheless.

"I know where you're taking me tomorrow for my birthday," she said in a sing-song voice.

I face-palmed myself. "That was supposed to be a suprise!" I complained.

She started doing a weird happy-dance-thing, and I found myself laughing despite my disappointment.

"Claire, Quil, Jameson, Aria, and Hayden are coming?" she asked, still jumping up and down.

"Yeah, Claire and Hayden and Aria love Taylor Swift too," I said.

Yeah, you heard me right. Seraphina Marie, depsite how amazing she was, was like any other preteen and teenage girl in America, fully part of the throng of Taylor Swift lovers. If I had a dollar for every time I heard "Speak Now" or "Back to December," I would never need to get a job. Ever.

I just counted my lucky stars that Sera didn't like Justin Beiber. I felt sorry for poor Embry, because Allegra, now physically about four or five, had a raging case of the Beiber fever. He had the Beibs' songs stuck in his head all the time, so patrolling with him was like hell, if hell was Justin Beiber's songs being sung in Embry's off-key voice in your head over and over again.

And over again.

And _over again._

"And you're getting a limo too?" she squeaked with excitement.

"Oh yeah. We're going to the concert in style," I told her, winking.

She giggled, and helped herself to my pocket to pull out my phone. She dialed Alice.

"Hello?" Alice answered.

"Did you know that Seth's taking me to Taylor Swift tomorrow?" she asked excitedly.

Alice laughed. "Of course, angel. What kind of mother would I be if I didn't know?"

"Did everyone else know?" she asked.

Alice giggled. "We can keep things from you, you know. It _is _possible."

She scowled. "No. I want to know everything."

Her mother just laughed. "So, did Seth finally cave?"

Sera giggled again. "No, I touched his arm."

"Well, angel, have a good time. _Oh! _Can I dress you?" Alice asked.

Sera blanched. "Um – Mom –"

"Please please please please please _please?_" Alice begged.

Sera sat back down on the log and sighed. "In what," she muttered hopelessly.

"Yay!" Alice squealed, and Sera had to hold the phone away from her ear. "There's an olive green shirt in your closet that I got for you the other day that would look _amazing. _And then, I can put you in a skirt – "

"What if I want to run around though?" Sera cut off.

"Not in public, darling." It was simple, but full of meaning. Sera "running around" would tip someone off that she wasn't normal.

Sera sighed in agreement. Alice continued. "I'll put you in a pair of Black Converse, but only because it's your birthday and you're going to a concert. So if they get dirty, I'll have a reason to throw them out," Alice said hopefully.

Sera huffed. "That's okay, I guess."

Alice squealed again, and Sera winced. "Okay, bye! Love you!" Alice made a kissing noise over the phone, and then hung up. Sera rolled her eyes and shoved the phone back into my pocket.

"How did you do it?" she muttered, rubbing her forehead.

I grinned. "Do what?"

"Live with my mother before I was born."

I burst out into laughter. "Aw, Alice's not that bad. You have to admit, she usually is right. And besides the endless shopping, she's fairly easy to live with."

"Not when you're her daughter and you hate shopping and you don't mind getting dirty, whereas she can't stand it." Another huff.

"Aw, cheer up, kid. We're going to see Taylor Swift tomorrow. Isn't she like, the center of your existance or something?" I asked, bumping shoulders with her. She relaxed and grinned.

"She's the center of my musical existance, but close."

"Why? I mean, she's not bad, but all of her songs are about the same things."

"Not true! She wrote about not wanting to grow up, which I don't agree with, but it's a good song," Sera argued.

I shook my head. "Correction. A good majority or her songs are about the same thing. They're all about love."

I expected Sera to say something snarky about love and explain her musical genius and the _true _reason why Taylor Swift was her favorite singer, but expecting Sera to have a certain reaction almost always didn't go you way.

Sera shocked my by blushing and looking down at her bare feet. Huh.

Maybe I stepped a little too far. "But I mean, love's okay, I guess. She's a good singer too," I offered.

Sera's blush lightened ever-so-slightly, but she continued to look at her feet. "She is. And she writes about what people her age go through."

I stared at her, trying to decipher what was going on with her. She had such a weird reaction. Then again, no one could ever predict her reactions to anything, so I brushed it off.

I began talking about Hayden Gale, newest wolf. She had phased when Sera had predicted it, but she had only been fifteen, same age I had been. She took it in stride, although it was harder for her, since she had a boyfriend and was fairly popular at school. She had been devestated to break up with her boyfriend, and even though they had only been going out for two months, she still really liked him. Hayden was a little bitter, a lot sarcastic, but she was a wonderful friend, and never got awkward around any of the guys, even when she realized that she'd have to be naked nine times out of ten and pretty much watch perpetual porn on a daily basis. I still believed that Jared was the worst of the pack when it came to that fact. I couldn't look Kim in the eye for the longest time, especially after seeing everything I've seen about her, _in great detail._ But Hayden was more of a guys' girl, and didn't care at all. She was just one of the boys.

Leah took her under her wing, and showed her the ropes. She was fitting in, but I knew from first glance that she had been through a lot. Don't underestimate the power of Taylor Swift though. When I told Leah about taking Sera to the Swift concert, she mentioned something about Hayden liking her, so in an effort to get closer to the newest wolf, I bought her a ticket too.

The sun was beginning to fall, so I took Sera back home. She was in a happy mood, plugging in her iPod and blasting Taylor Swift through the car speakers. The loud beat was piercing my skull. If this was any indication of tomorrow, I was in for a headache.

* * *

><p>I looked at my watch. 1:50. The limo was supposed to arrive at 2, the concert start at six, and then we'd have the limo driver drive us home. Sera was beyond excited about the fact that she would get to ride in a <em>limo.<em>

Sera had insisted that Alice keep it small since we were going to a concert later, so the Cullens settled for just giving Sera presents and saving a cake that Esme baked for when she got home from the concert. I was okay with that. I got Sera something else along with my present – a locket. There wasn't any picture in there yet, I wanted to leave that up to her, but after insisting that it _wasn't _too much to give her, she finally accepted it.

Despite not having a job, I actually had a lot of money, therefore more money to spend on Sera. My father had left a sum of money for me when he died, so I did what every broke smart person did – I invested it. I relied on Alice to predict the stock market changes, so I actually had more money to my name than I knew what to do with.

Made spoiling my imprint easy.

Claire, Quil, Hayden, Aria, and Jameson all showed up at the house. Claire and Quil were discussing Taylor Swift versus Guns 'n' Roses (you can't compare the two, they're nothing alike!). Aria was walking ahead of Jameson, gossiping about a girl on the rez who was mean to her friend and basically, in a ten-year-old way, calling her a bitch. Jameson was soaking up everything she was saying, outraged that this person, whoever she was, was affecting Aria in this way. Hayden was off to the side, the loner in this group. I got up and hugged her.

"Hey, Hayden," I greeted.

"Seth, thanks for inviting me," she said. Hayden's bobbed hair was curled tightly, and she was wearing a light dress. Hayden was actually quite pretty, but she had some of the same characteristics my sister did – short hair, tan skin, long eyelashes, lots of muscles. The longer I looked at her, the more she looked like Leah.

"My pleasure. I hope you're ready to listen to some Taylor Swift," I told her, and nudged her. She pushed me back and laughed.

"Oh, you know I'm down for anything," she said with a wink. I was about to say something back when Sera bounded down the stairs, with the same outfit Alice described as yesterday.

"You look nice," I commented, and she smiled. She smiled shyly at Hayden.

"Hi, I'm Seraphina, Sera if you prefer," she said, and extended her hair. Hayden looked at her hand and snorted. She pulled Sera in for a hug.

"Hey, birthday girl. Thanks for the invite," Hayden said, releasing her.

Sera grinned, but I could feel that she was surprised. Hayden was cool and confident, and walked around, very sure of herself.

The limo arrived, and Aria and Claire let out a squeal. They didn't know that we were riding to the Swift concert in style.

Aria was bouncing around in her seat, talking to Jameson at 100 miles per hour. Sera and Claire were seated near each other like always. It was funny how those two always gravitated towards each other. I think Sera was impressed by how mature Claire was, and Sera considered Claire to be her best human friend.

Hayden slid in next to me. "Hey, I'll sit by you, if that's okay," she said, climbing agilely into the car.

I grinned at her, and relaxed in my seat, near my imprint. Hayden flipped her hair back, and I caught a whiff of her perfume. "So, I didn't know you liked Taylor Swift," she said, wagging her eybrows. I laughed.

"She's okay I guess, but Sera loves her, so," I said, glancing down at Sera. Aria had moved to sit next to Claire, and Jameson looked a little lost on the other side of the limo without her.

"Sera, right," she muttered. I nodded.

"It's not every day that your best friend turns two," I said, laughing, and I nudged Sera. Sera shook her head at me but grinned.

Hayden looked a little shocked. "Two? I didn't know...she aged that fast," Hayden said, trailing off a little bit.

I shrugged. "You get used to it. She's smarter than most adults anyways." I said this with a little more pride than was intended, but I couldn't help it.

"I was on the honor roll, what does that make me?" she said, winking.

"A good student," I laughed.

She nudged me. "I heard you did pretty good in school too."

I shrugged. "I was in some advanced classes and I graduated early so I didn't have to worry about being in school while still being a wolf."

She nodded. "Maybe you can tutor me sometime, I need help in chemistry," she breathed.

"Sure, if you needed help," I offered, leaning back and breathing in Sera's scent again. Was it getting stronger, or was it just me?

I looked over at Jameson. He raised an eyebrow at me but said nothing. I raised an eyebrow back. _What's up?_

He shrugged, and continued to stare at Aria like she was the sun and the moon.

I looked down at Sera, and she was looking at me with an unexplainable look on her face. I didn't even know how to describe it. It was something I had never seen before on Sera's face, so I couldn't place it.

I could feel her emotions though, and they were still confused. Not confused, as in the clear emotion itself, but a whole bunch of emotions mixed into one body. _That _made _me_ confused.

It was beginning to feel a little stuffy. Hayden kept on asking me personal questions in an effort to get to know me, asking me when the last time I had a date was or what I liked to do or where all the good parties were. She was one of the guys, did it matter?

But as we laughed and joked together, I felt Sera's emotions become stronger and stronger. It got to the point where it was more a punch in the gut than anything else.

I looked down at my imprint while Hayden was in mid-sentence. She was picking at her nails, silent, her eyebrows so furrowed they looked like they were going to be permanently stuck that way.

Something in my gut told me I shouldn't bring it up right here, so I stayed silent, not nearly as friendly as I was with Hayden previously.

We got up to the concert in Seattle around four thirty. I was barely out of the car when Jameson pulled me aside.

He slapped me upside the head. "What's wrong with you?" he hissed.

"What's wrong with _you?_" I hissed back, rubbing the spot where he hit me.

"Your imprint looked like she wanted to kill someone the enitre time," Jameson whispered, looking over at Sera. I saw it for the the first time, and if Jameson hadn't already slapped me, I would have done it myself. Sera was leaning up against the car, glaring at her shoes, while Aria talked endlessly. Claire was listening, but she was casting long sideways glances at Sera, a question in her eyes. Sera did, in fact, look like she was ready to kill someone.

"What did I do?" I asked.

"You were flirting with Hayden, you idiot!"

My mouth dropped in shock. _No. _I was not. At all. Hayden was _one of the guys, _and I _had an imprint. _She of all girls would know not to flirt with me.

"That's not possible, I have an imprint," I whispered.

Jameson raised his eyebrows. "I don't know, man. You're friendly and everything. She mighta taken it like that."

"She's a wolf though, she knows I have an imprint," I whispered to him.

"Hayden doesn't exactly play by the rules," he whispered back, "She's okay with going for you because you don't share a pack mind with her."

"I have an _imprint!_" I wanted to screech it.

"A young one," he brought up.

"Would you cheat on Aria?" I asked him. Our imprints were too young, but even if we dated other girls, it'd still feel like cheating.

"Of course not. I'm just trying to think of why she would do that," he said.

I shook my head. "I-I can't deal with this. My imprint is angry at me, and I still don't understand how I was flirting. Shit, I'm making such a mess of things, and we just got here." I ran a stressed hand through my hair, searching for my imprint. She was still leaned up against the limo, but she was making an effort to look like she was part of the conversation although she practically had gray storm clouds floating around her. I almost ran to her I was so desperate to talk to her.

"Sera, can we talk?" I asked.

Sera looked up at me with confusion on her face, but I could still feel the emotions coming off of her, panging at my gut. "If you want," she said cordially, which in itself was just plain weird. I grabbed her hand and dragged her to where I was talking to Jameson not too long ago.

I knelt down on my knees to look her directly in the eyes. "What's wrong?" I whispered.

She shrugged, and looked down at her feet. I sighed.

"Please, Sera," I begged. My insides were clawing at me now, but I didn't know where her emotions stopped and mine started.

She let out a little angry huff and clenched her fist. "You were flirting with Hayden. You offered to tutor her and hang out with her," she hissed, shutting her eyes tightly.

"I was _not _flirting with her!" I whispered indignantly.

She shook her head angrily and looked down, refusing to answer me. I saw a couple of tears leave her eyes, and when I tried to pull her face back up, she fought my hand so she wouldn't have to look at me.

I felt that rejection wash over me. I felt it pierce me, so real, over and over again. My hands started shaking with grief and sadness. My knees felt a little wobbily, and I felt my whole stomach plummet to its death somewhere around my toes.

I had experienced Sera angry, Sera sad, Sera rebellious. But I had never been _rejected _by her before. This was by far the worst of them all.

And only because she refused to look at me in my face.

"Sera, I really wasn't flirting," I whispered weakly. She cast her angry sapphire eyes up at me.

"You _were, _Seth! You were flirting with her, and t-then you're going to fall in l-love with her, and then you're going to leave m-m-m-_me,_" she sobbed, all of her emotions breaking through finally, throwing her arms around my neck. A few seconds ago, she was rejecting me. Now, she flat-out needed me.

Oh Sera.

I hugged her tightly. "I'm not going anywhere, Sera."

That was as true as life itself.

She nodded into my shoulder. "Don't l-l-leave."

I pulled her back and looked at her face. She looked crushed, like she couldn't stand the thought. I couldn't stand it either. I felt my own eyes water. "Please don't be sad, Sera. I'll never leave you." I smiled at her gently and then wiped away a tear with the pad of my thumb. "C'mon, kid. You know I'll never leave. I told you I'd stalk you, even if you didn't want me." I tried to make her smile. Her smile was the best thing in the world.

She sniffed and tried miserably to not crack a glorious grin. "I kinda believe you," she said honestly, and then giggled, looking down at her feet. I kissed her hair. This kid could be a rubber band at times with her emotions, but I loved her with everything I had. I knew I had a lot to look forward to coming into her ever-looming teenage years, but for her, I would stick anything out.

I hugged her tightly for a few more minutes, breathing in her calming lavendar-and-musk scent. Sweet, but with a harder, not-so-ordinary edge. It was reflective of her personality.

I caught her gazing at the stadium longingly. I guess I had been hugging her for awhile. I chuckled, and kissed her head.

I bent down to whisper in her ear. "I don't know about you, but if you still want to go see Taylor Swift, then I'm for it – "

Sera slapped me upside the head. My face slipped into a pout. Why were people hitting me today? "What was that for?"

"For thinking I didn't want to see Taylor Swift for a single second," she said, placing her hand on her hip, but despite her appearance, she smiled at me.

Her smile was contagious. I couldn't help it. I grinned back at her.

We walked hand-in-hand back to the limo, where Aria was _still_ talking at 100 miles per hour to Jameson. I couldn't help but think that she was going to dislocate her jaw with all the talking she did. I cut over her story. "Ready to go?"

Claire and Aria squealed, and started talking about their all-time favorite Swift song on the way to our seats. Sera joined in the conversation, looking a lot better than on the car ride here.

Hayden started talking to me, but I was much more distant to her than before, knowing that she had in fact tried to flirt with me, and I didn't want to risk upsetting Sera again. She seemed to guess what happened, and with what I thought was a disappointed glance, she settled into her seat, making comments to Quil and Jameson.

I could have had my eyes sewn shut and known the exact moment Taylor walked onto stage. An entire stadium full of 50,000 girls burst screaming.

You have not known pain until you have literally been rendered speechless and immobile by your own sensitive hearing. I almost started twitching on the ground. Were my ears bleeding? I sincerely wanted someone to check.

Sera, Claire, and Aria were screaming right along with them. The three had their arms locked with each other, looking onto the brightly lit stage. If I could have moved, I would have taken a picture. It would have been a perfect Kodak moment.

Hayden was clapping and yelling "GO TAYLOR" while Quil, Jameson, and I sat there, petrified through our sensitive hearing. I didn't know how Hayden did it, until I looked closer. Green buds were in her ears. _Of course. _

Hayden brought earplugs.

Maybe she was smarter than I gave her credit for on the limo.

Swift started singing "Sparks Fly."

_The way you move is like a full-on rainstorm,_

_And I'm a house of cards,_

_You're the kind of reckless that should keep me running,_

_But I kinda know that I won't get far,_

_You stood there in front of me just close enough to touch,_

_Close enough to hope you couldn't see what I was thinking of,_

_Drop everything now,_

_Meet me in the pouring rain,_

_Kiss me on the sidewalk,_

_Take away the pain,_

'_Cause I see sparks fly whenever you smile..._

My eardrums were going to burst. I just knew it.

The level of noise in this place was enough to ensure I would never hear again. By the looks on Quil's and Jameson's faces, I knew they were thinking the same thing.

Sera was jumping up and down, screaming the lyrics with Aria.

_I run my fingers through your hair and watch the lights go wild,_

_Just keep on keeping your eyes on me,_

_It's strong enough to make it feel right,_

_Lead me up the staircase,_

_Won't you whisper soft and slow,_

_I'm captivated by you baby,_

_Like a fireworks show..._

Sera turned around, realizing that I was sitting alone and immobile like a statue. She smirked at me, and went to go sit on my lap. I was still feeling the beat bounce around in my skull. Maybe I would get a seizure.

God bless imprints. Seriously.

She must've felt how uncomfortable I was, because she seriously did the one thing I needed.

She covered my ears.

I almost started crying with the relief, and Jameson and Quil looked over at me enviously while their imprints were too busy rocking out. Yeah, that's right, my imprint's better than your imprint! The concert was now just a dim murmur. I smiled gratefully at my loving little girl.

The song ended, and Sera removed her hands. I muttered into her ear, "Thank you, really...thank you."

"If it means a lot to you," she said a little dismissively, but I could see her happiness, like the brightest light, in her eyes.

She smiled at me, and didn't get up again to stand with the girls. She was on my lap the whole night. If she stood up, she always kept a possessive hand on my leg, claiming to everyone, all the girls in the audience and Hayden especially – I was _hers_.

I found that throughout the concert, my ears adjusted, so although the concert was extremely loud, it wasn't as painful as before, so Sera could properly enjoy her present. Taylor Swift played through "Back to December," "Mean," "Speak Now," "Mine," 'Love Story," "Ours," and pretty much every song that Sera was obsessed with. I had been forced to listen to the songs so many times that I found myself singing along to a couple of them. Quil laughed at me and called me a pussy, but to my amusement, out of the corner of my eye, I saw him singing along to a couple of them too. I punched his arm for that one.

I think there was a rule of thumb if you wanted to go to a Swift concert, besides bringing earplugs. If you didn't want girls to approach you, keep your girl on your lap or always near you. I wasn't appraoched once that night because Sera was being a little possessive, but Quil and Jameson got appraoched at least five times. Aria got so mad at Jameson for actually striking up a small conversation with the chick sittikng a few seats down from him that she gave him the cold shoulder for a good hour of the concert. I don't think I had ever seen Jameson look that lost. During "Mine," he finally got her to crack a smile, and they made up. But after that, like Sera, Aria kept a possessive hand on Jameson all night. Claire followed suit too.

By the end of the night, Sera was so exausted that I had to carry her out to the limo, same with Claire and Aria. All the girls except for Hayden were passed out in the limo before we even got there, snoring softly. Sera's head was in my lap, and she had a smile on her dreaming face the whole way home. A few times, I couldn't help but kiss her cheek softly and breathe in her lavendar and musk scent in contentment. Even if I probably wouldn't hear right for the next three days, her smile made it worth all the pain, tears, and screaming girls.

* * *

><p>Hayden didn't bother me much after that. She began treating me just like she treated everyone else in pack, if not more distant. I had a feeling that Leah got to her, especially whenever I saw the look on my sister's face when Hayden stared at me for too long.<p>

It was three days after the concert, and unlike my predictions, my hearing went back to normal shortly after the concert. I was grateful for wolf healing capabilities.

Today, I was taking Sera out for fishing for the first time, since we were staying in Washington until tomorrow. I had a bit of nostalgia when I went back to the old house to pick up some of Dad's fishing supplies. The last time I went fishing was just a few days before his death.

As I packed the tackle, Leah came outside and leaned heavily on the door frame, watching with sad eyes. "I miss him," she said.

I looked up at her face. Her face was pulled into a frown, and rare tears were pooled in her eyes as she skimmed over the old nets and fishing rods.

I stood up and pulled her in for a hug, and held her tightly. Leah wasn't one for emotions or sentimentality, so she pulled back after a few seconds and gave me an apologetic smile.

"I can't believe how long it's been. So much has changed," she said, and looked behind her in the house. Lucas was playing inside contentedly, a pen around him because he was an avid walker. He caught Leah looking at him, and he screamed, "Lee!" He started to giggle.

Leah laughed and sighed contentedly.

"Would you change it?" I asked suddenly.

She looked over at me, suprised. "No. I wouldn't change a thing," she said automatically. She looked down, surprised with herself.

"I wouldn't. Not a single detail." The fact seemed to shock her.

I smiled, and didn't say anything. I kissed her forehead, grabbed the tackle box and rods, and packed them in the car. I looked back, and Leah smiled. "Have fun," she called.

"You too," I said, and I climbed in the car. I pulled out of the driveway, and drove down the path to the Cullens.

I parked my car in front of the house, and walked inside. I found Sera sitting on the couch, attempting video games again, and by the looks of it, failing miserably.

"Knock, knock," I greeted, and Sera turned around in her seat, her entire face lighting up. "Seth!" She practically shoved the controller into Embry's hand, shot up, and ran to hug me. I chuckled.

"Excited?" I asked. She nodded.

"Well, I'm ready to go. How about it?" I asked.

She nodded again, and we went out to the car to drive to the my dad's old fishing spot.

* * *

><p><strong>Sera POV<strong>

Seth and I were driving to his father's old spot for my first time fishing.

I was really excited! Fishing had always sounded intriguing to me, so when Seth recommended we go yesterday, I couldn't even reign in my excitement.

Today, he looked like my Seth. He had on a pair of old jeans and a dark t-shirt, not something my _mother_ concocted, I thought a little bitterly. I loved my mother, but my dad said we were too alike to get along sometimes. We didn't have any common ground to bond either, since my mother was literally obsessed with shopping, and well, I...I couldn't help the cringe. I knew more stuff about spring collections and different skirt cuts than I ever wanted to know, and I think she learned a thing or two about sports from me.

I was a bit tired this morning. Claire called me last night, crying, because her mother had upset her. I could sympathize.

I tried my hardest to tame my hair this morning, but it never worked out, like always. And if I asked my mother, she would end up dressing me. Going fishing wearing designer clothes wasn't a good idea. I internally shook my head. My mother didn't _understand _sometimes.

Not like Seth though. Seth knew me like the back of his hand. He's one of the few people in the world that could make me see sense when I needed it. My family always joked that I had "spunk," as they put it. I knew I had a temper, and sometimes, it consumed me. But Seth always brought me back to myself.

Seth and I sat in silence. A smile was playing at his lips, and I couldn't help but be a little mesmerized. Seth was always so _happy. _His eyes were always sparkling, he was always smiling, and he always knew what to say to make people feel better. He was just warm.

Especially to me. Ever since I figured out the imprint, I knew that we had a connection that couldn't be ignored. He always knew what I was feeling, I always knew what he was feeling. Sometimes, he finished my sentences, and when he didn't know how to explain something, I always knew what he meant. That's how it's been with us from the day I was born. Literally.

But was there something different about him today? Did he get...bigger? Seth, although I knew he was massive, he had always been like my brother in my eyes. My best friend. I had never _really _considered him to be bigger than me, because I had always felt equal to him. But today, I could clearly see the definition underneath his shirt. I could see every bit of stubble on his face, his effortless smile. I could see it all.

I would have to ask him about that later. I hated not knowing things.

We got tho the famous spot. It was a secluded place by the ocean, but the water was very calm today, so it seemed more of lake than anything else. I could hear the beating hearts of animals inside the forest, including a deer not too far away that made my mouth water. Maybe I could ask Seth if we could go hunting before we left.

There was a small aluminum boat sitting at the water's edge that didn't look big enough to take Seth's weight. He smiled apologetically at me.

"It's going to be a bit of a tight fit since we have all the stuff and I'm kinda big," he said, but his smile erased any negative feelings I could have possibly had about it, which were none. I smiled back.

"It's okay," I said. He grinned, and walked over to me to kiss my hair. This was nothing weird – he had kissed my hair, my head, my cheeks countless times in my life that it was nothing new. But oddly enough, I felt my face warm just a tad. What was that about? It was like my blush when he started talking about love at the Taylor Swift concert. Grandpa blamed it on my changing hormones, saying that I would be very touchy about a lot of things as they changed in meaning for me. I wasn't quite sure what he meant by that, but I was okay with it, I guess. It made sense...right?

"Go sit in the boat, I'll be back in a sec," he said happily, and practically bounced away. I had to laugh to myself. He was like a puppy.

I waited patiently for him to get back. He arrived moments later, carrying two poles and a rather large tackle box. I watched as he lifted the box effortlessly, even though it looked too heavy for a human to carry. His bulging muscles, weirdly clear to me now, moved sinuously under his shirt.

He got closer, and I had to ask. "Seth?" I asked.

"Yeah, kiddo?" he said, moving the box into the boat, looking at me with sparkling eyes. I felt myself heat under his stare. What was going _on_ with me? I really hated being a hybrid sometimes, not even being able to _predict _how my body would react sometimes.

"Did you get bigger? Like gain muscle mass or something? Because you look...bigger," I said rather lamely.

"Huh?" He cocked his head to the side. Just like a puppy.

"I don't know, maybe it's just me..." I said, trailing off. That was a dumb question, I realized. Why would he gain muscle mass? Nothing had changed in the past few days, except my newfound reactions to things. I would have to ask Grandpa Carlisle.

He shrugged it off. "I'm not sure. I haven't aged in a long time, so probably not. Maybe it's the light or something," he offered.

"Yeah, the light," I mumbled. I knew that wasn't it though. I had seen Seth in every light, dark, bright, dim, natural lighting, overcast, dawn and dusk. He always looked the same to me.

Except today though.

"You okay?" he asked worriedly, nudging me with his shoulder. I felt his heat brush up against me, and I involuntarily shivered.

"I'm fine!" I said a little too quickly. He raised his eyebrow at me but didn't question it. I thanked the heavens that Seth wasn't a prier.

I changed the subject. "Show me how to cast?" I asked, lifting the smaller of the poles. Seth relaxed and grinned.

He began going down the list of everything your pole needed to properly cast and catch a fish. I made sure to note everything he said. Unfortunately, I caught myself staring at his mouth again. Why hadn't I noticed it before? He had really full lips...

_Stop it, Seraphina, _I told myself, shaking myself out of it. What was _going on _today?

Fortunately for me, I didn't miss much. Doing everything he said, I stood up, cast the line...

...And failed.

It ended up swinging back and the weight hooked onto the line plonked me in the head. Normally, that wouldn't have hurt, but I was strong, and the weight was heavy.

"Ow," I muttered, rubbing the spot on my forehead where it hit. Seth, of course, became instantly worried.

"Sera? Are you okay? C'mon kiddo, sit down for a second. Does it hurt? Do you feel like it's bruising anywhere – "

"Seth, calm down, I'll be okay," I promised, already feeling the pain start to drift away. Then again, there were some things about being a hybrid that I _liked._

Seth pursed his lips, and regarded me for a few seconds. Yet again, I felt myself heat under his intense gaze.

Seth didn't notice, and nodded. "All right. Can I show you this time?" he asked a little worriedly.

I nodded, and handed him my pole. He chuckled and lifted me to my feet from where I sat, turning to face me with my back to his chest. I could feel his heat radiating off into my clothes, my body instantly surrounded by _Seth. _I stood stalk still as he brought the pole around to my front, therefore surrounding me completely.

I felt hot in more ways than one.

I swear my heart skipped a beat. But – but...it was _Seth, _I tried to reason with myself. He wasn't a stranger. Seth was my best friend; he hugged me and put his arms around me all the time.

I was trying to think logically, but he started talking, his warm breath brushing against my ear. My heart was beating erratically at this point.

My head was logical, but my body was betraying me.

Then again, when did it _ever _do what I wanted it to?

And why was this _happening? _It was Seth! Seth, for crying out loud!

He started talking. _He was moving his full lips..._

I gulped.

"Here, I'll guide you," he said gently. His hot hands encased my small ones completely. If I wasn't holding onto that pole, my hands would be trembling.

He lifted my hands to the side of me, twisting my body by doing so. My side was brushing up against his chest, and I could feel every soft fiber of that simple cotton shirt. The cotton shirt that _my _Seth wore.

My Seth. He was just Seth. The same Seth that I've known all my life.

Oh body, why are you doing this to me?

I kept my face away from him to not betray myself. I knew that I had to be blushing furiously. Suddenly, the gentle twist he gave me snapped back, and he moved my body forward, propelling the line twnety feet into the water.

And out of my hands.

The pole splashed into the water, and was quickly sinking to the bottom. Seth scrambled to catch the pole.

"Oh, Sera, I'm sorry – " he said, bending down into the water.

And then Seth was gone.

Seth bent over too far, and he fell into the water, face first. I took in a sharp gasp and squeaked.

I knew my birthday was nearing the winter months, so the water had to be freezing. Seth never specified whether wolves could get hypothermia. I felt my panic set in.

"SETH!" I yelled, scrambling to the edge as well, trying to peer as best as I could into the murky water. Where did he go? _Oh no, oh no... _My heart was beating erratically again, but for a completely different reason. Seth _had _to come back up. But what if he didn't?

Darn body! My body instantly slipped into a crouch whenever I got too fearful, too distressed to deal with it logically and _humanely. _My body was taking up the slack by reverting to my vampire nature.

But not even five seconds later, he emerged from the water, pole in hand, grinning ear to ear. My mouth dropped. He wasn't even _shivering._

He laughed. "Sorry about that. I guess I did get bigger after all. Good thing I didn't capsize the boat," he said, pulling the boat towards him, almost getting in, but thought better of it.

"Nah, I'll just stay in here. Crap, I have no dry clothes left!" He seemed disappointed, and stared back at the car. "I'm not going to be much use in the water, but I don't want to get you wet. Hmm...I think we'll have to cut it short for today." He looked at me apologetically. "I'm _really _sorry, Sera. I promise I'll make it up to you." He gave me a wide-eyed puppy stare, like he was _sorry _that he had accidentally fallen in the water and was possibly getting hypothermia right now.

But he didn't even look _cold. _Maybe it was something I didn't know. I tried not to be bitter about that thought. I simply nodded woodenly, feeling the fear that I felt moments ago dawn on me. I began to shiver.

Seth grabbed the front of the boat, and with one hand, he began to swim me back to shore. _With one hand. _His strong, muscular arms were graceful and fluid, and rippled underneath the water's edge as he got us back to shore in no time. I was mesmerized by how someone as big and tall as Seth could move so gracefully. His muscles moved so fluidly...

No. Stop this right now.

He stepped out of the water, and to be a help (and to hide my face), I turned around and grabbed the massive toolbox. It wasn't abnormally heavy since I was fairly strong, but I wouldn't be able to hold it forever.

I turned around, and I almost dropped it.

Because I decided to turn around at the same moment that Seth decided to take off his shirt.

He grasped at the hem of his soaking shirt, and like he was a model for a commercial, he pulled it over his head, tortuously slow.

Did I catch on fire?

_One, two, three, four... _eight. Eight. _Eight. _He had an _eight _pack. I had read about them in books about anatomy, but I had always looked at them in a scientific light. And I mean, it wasn't like I had never seen Seth without his shirt on; I knew full-well what he looked like. They had always had a scientific quality to them too. But they were so..._attractive _now.

I mentally slapped myself. I was _ogling _my best friend!

But I couldn't look away. Seth was... Seth was...

Oh no. Seth was _gorgeous._

Why had I never noticed it before? Seth beat every single male model I had ever seen in any store, not that I noticed them either until now. But comparing the two handsome images in my head, it was like comparing fast food to a five-star dinner. Like comparing peas to a healthy mountain lion. You _couldn't._

And of course, he caught me ogling him.

"What's wrong? Is there something on my chest?" he asked, looking down at himself. I gave myself another mental slap for good measure. _Focus, Sera, you can do this. Seth Clearwater, nothing's changed._

_Stop lying to yourself, everything's changed, _an angry voice hissed in my head. I pushed it aside and tried to focus on how I normally sounded.

"No. I was just wondering if you were cold. You fell into a freezing pond, you know," I said, telling the half-truth. I was proud that that came out not the least bit shaky. I walked up to him and smiled.

"No, wolves don't get cold. Didn't you know that?" he asked, looking into my eyes.

Any self-control I had faded away, and I blushed furiously. "No, I didn't." And Seth's _voice _was handsome too. I whimpered in my head; could this get any _worse?_

Seth smiled happily with those full lips of his (might as well acknowledge them _now_). "C'mon, hon. Let's take you home."

I sighed, and hopped in the truck, trying to keep my eyes off of his naked torse the whole way home.

If this was how it wad going to be for now on, I would be in trouble.

* * *

><p>I got home, and I ran to the person I needed – Bella. I was always close with Bella, so she seemed like the perfect person.<p>

I didn't even say any words to her, I just grabbed her hand and dragged her upstairs. I saw that my mother and Aunt Rose were following too. Girl time. Awesome.

I realized with a shock that I almost _never _hung out with girls. It was always Seth, Jake, or Embry, or one of my uncles, or the pack. The closest I ever came to girl time was with Claire and Aria or Leah, but it had never been _just _girls.

I walked into my parents' room and shut the door. "Aunt Bella, can you shield?" I whsipered.

Bella nodded, shielded, and then asked. "What's wrong, sweetie?"

Rosalie moved to grab my hand. "It's okay honey, you can tell us," she said, running her fingers through my wild hair.

I couldn't help it. I groaned, and plopped myself face first onto the bed. I felt my mom move closer to me. "Sera, what's wrong?" my mom asked sweetly, putting her hand on my back.

I felt bad for all the times I had been mean to her. She _was _a good mom. I lifted myself up and wrapped my arms around her waist.

"Things changed," I whispered, knowing that my uncles and Seth – _oh god, Seth _– were probably eavesdropping like they never had before.

Rosalie, Bella, and my mom all huddled around me so I could talk even lower. "I – Seth," I said lamely, looking down at my feet and blushing.

Before they had a chance to respond, Nessie walked into my room. "I'm hurt. Girl time, and no one invited me?" She walked over to be included in the huddle. "What's up?"

Mom put a finger on her lips to tell Nessie to be quieter. "Things changed today for me." It was barely audible, but I felt like I should be screaming it.

I felt betrayed by my own body. It had acted on its own accord. And now – this.

"How? You mentioned Seth," Aunt Bella breathed.

I looked into her golden eyes with sincerity. I could feel my own water. "I...I _saw _him. He's...he's cute."

And then they understood. They all simultaneously let out a breath.

"I was the same age as you when it happened to me," Nessie said, grabbing my hand and looked at me sympathetically.

"You have a crush," Rosalie said, grinning at me.

I plopped myself back onto my bed. "Shut up," I mumbled, knowing it was true.

Bella and Mom giggled. "Oh angel, this is so cute!" my mom silently gushed. I felt my face burn.

"No, it's weird," I moaned a bit loudly, and I heard Emmett ask Edward downstairs, "What's weird?"

I slapped my forehead. I heard Seth call it "face-palm" one time.

_Seth, his smile, his eyes..._

I couldn't get away from it. My face probably looked like a tomato right now.

"Honey, it's natural to have a crush," Rosalie whispered, grabbing my hand.

"Yeah, especially since you're physically about nine or ten," Nessie explained, "It happens to everyone, whether they're human or hybrid."

I nodded at what she was saying. The weirdest thing that ever happened in my life turned out to be probably the only thing normal about me. I clung onto this new hope.

"That...helps. A lot, actually. Thank you Nessie," I said sincerely.

"Hey, I want to be part of it too!" Allegra complained, walking into the room. I smiled at my cousin. She walked over to me, and I hugged her and kissed her cheek.

"We're talking about clothes," I said loudly for the boys downstais, and I heard them groan. We all giggled.

"Thank you everyone, that helped," I said, standing up. They all grinned at me.

"You're welcome," they said.

I grabbed Allegra's hand and walked downstairs into the living room. They all stood up when they saw me.

"Why were you whispering?" Emmett complained, his bottom lip sliding out. I giggled.

"None of your business," I said, but glanced at Edward. He gave me a knowing look and a wink. I rolled my eyes.

"Are you going to tell me?" said an eager voice that made me flush.

Seth was standing in the corner, giving me a concerned once-over. I nodded my head and smiled.

"Yep. I think I'm going to go to bed," I said quickly, feeling the walls starting to cave on me.

I sprinted to my room, past my aunts and cousin that were leaving, and shut my door tight.

I slid down the door to sit on the floor. I pulled out the locket that I wore around my neck, and opened the clasp. Inside was a picture of Seth with glittering eyes and his happy smile that made my heart melt.

I smiled. I officially had a crush on Seth Clearwater.

* * *

><p><em>AN: dsyhjnkfdjbk'AWWWWWW. :3_

_I had a little too much fun writing that chapter. Especially in Sera's POV. I can't stop smiling right now. SERA HAS A CRUSH! :DD_

_(I get a little too into my stories, if you can't tell.)_

_I hope my first time writing in Sera's POV didn't disappoint. Review, por favor!_

_STAY GOLDEN,_

_Chels._


	13. Go Karts, Crying, and Plain Stupidity

_A/N: Hey everyone! This chapter is going to be a little angsty. I thank you all for bearing with me up to this point; I've been setting the story up for the future, and I promise you that it's just getting good. ;)_

_HAPPY NEW YEAR'S, YOU GUYS! (:_

_This will be the last chapter of the 2011 year. I'm going back to school soon, so please don't hate me if the updates aren't as regular anymore. ): Expect on at least once a week. I won't be a COMPLETE flake, you know. :P_

_PLEASE REVIEW THIS CHAPTER. I had a bit of trouble writing this, because I completely rewrote the beginning of the chpater three of four times, since I didn't know how much to put in the chapter, how little, which POV to go with (now that I have Sera, I have to acknowledge her too...this chapter was originally going to start with Seth). _

Disclaimer: I don't own the Twilight Series or Smeyer, I just own the plot line of this story and Seraphina Marie, Allegra, and any other characters not mentioned in the Saga and are of my own creation.

**Chapter Song: **_Bad Day, _by Daniel Powter.

"_It's hard to pretend you like someone you don't but even harder to pretend to not like someone when you really do.."_

_~Anonymous_

* * *

><p><strong>Sera POV<strong>

I was seeing Seth today!

I felt that whenever I was seeing him, but nowadays, it was accompanied by that strange jittery, fluttering-in-your-stomach feeling.

I was seeing _Seth_ today.

For the first time in my life, I actually cared about what I put on my back. I stood in a robe in my ridiculously huge closet that my mother insisted I have, but right now, I was grateful that I had at least a selection of clothes I wouldn't have normally worn. _Especially _hanging with Seth, because I always got dirty somehow whenever I was with him. I sincerely hoped that I didn't follow in that path today.

Ugh, I wish I had paid a little more attention to fashion! _Flattering cuts _and _fabric prints _were like foreign languages to me. I had always assumed that if it covered everything and was appropriate for seasonal weather, it was valid enough to wear outside. I had gotten used to Mom's scoffing whenever I walked out of the house in a plain shirt and the same old Converse, but she had long been past the "complaining stage." She was just lucky that I didn't wear the same clothes on a daily basis (besides my favorite pair of blue Converse).

I let out a snort of disgust and plopped myself down on the floor. It was hopeless. _I _was hopeless.

To my suprise, Nessie knocked softly and poked her head in.

"I thought I heard the sound of a hybrid vamp in desperation," she greeted, appraising where I was sitting, and came to sit down on the floor next to me.

Stupid hybrid hormones! I couldn't help my eyes fill with unwanted tears. I blinked them back as best I could, but a few escaped. I think only Nessie would understand how I felt, whereas my family would be fretting all over me like I was about to disintegrate. She put a comforting arm around my shoulders. "Just disparaging myself is all," I said feebily, leaning my head against her shoulder.

Was this a hybrid gathering? Allegra bounced inside the room as well, a usual bundle of energy. "Sera!" she screamed, launching herself at me and clasping her hands around my neck. Allie always made me feel better, so I couldn't help the bubble of laughter that escaped from me. "Hi, Allie."

Out of the whole family, Allegra followed me around the most if Embry wasn't there to entertain her. If I was in the house, more often than not she was following me around, watching what I was doing and trying to do the same thing.

I loved that little girl. She was so cute.

"Why are you sad?" she asked, sitting in my lap and peering at my face with a frown. I smiled and kissed her nose.

"It's the hormones," I told her, "Hybrids have it the worst from what I hear. We have to stick together," I told her, squeezing her tightly. Nessie dropped a kiss on my head.

"That we do, cousin. That we do," Renesmee said, shaking her head and giving me a sympathetic look.

We heard Embry come in through the front door then and scream, "ALLIE-CAT, I'M HERE!" Allegra squealed and jumped up, her bright green eyes reaching a new level of bright and green that only happened when her "Emmy" was around.

"EMMY!" she screamed back, and took off at full speed. Nessie and I laughed at her.

"I may be her mother, but Embry's her sun and moon," Nessie said, shaking her head.

I grinned, but the stupid hybrid hormones snuck back after thinking about how Seth was my sun and moon when _I _was little and suddenly, I was crying again. "Sweetie, why are you crying?" Nessie asked, holding me tighter.

"Because I can't dress myself!" I wailed, and looked up at Nessie's face hoplessly.

Surprisingly, she was biting her lip to keep from laughing. And she was trying really hard. We stared at each other for a few seconds before bursting into laughter. "You sound like me when I was in the preteen phase, except I actually _liked_ fashion," Nessie said through her laughs.

I was still laughing, and began wiping my tears. "I'm seeing Seth today..." I trailed off, furrowing my eyebrows, blushing and looking away.

"Ah," she said, nodding, "And I take it that you were so obstinant against fashion your entire life that suddenly you have no idea what to wear when it came down to it." She grinned at me knowingly.

I blushed harder. "Can you help me?" I wasn't normally one to ask for help, especially when it came to fashion, and Nessie realized this. She winked at me.

She chuckled and nudged me with her shoulder. "I would be honored to help my cousin."

Getting dressed with Nessie actually wasn't that bad. If it had been my mother, she would have thrown a pile of clothes at me and made me try them on for hours and hours. Nessie was different in that she explained what would look good and then helped me pick something out. She calmly explained which colors would look better on me, which ones would make my eyes stand out, which cuts would be best for my tiny frame. I had always been shorter and smaller than average.

Nessie put me in (and using my new vocabulary words) a ruffled blue cardigan, a floral print t-shirt with a brown braided belt, and a short denim skirt with black Converse. I asked her about the Converse, and she said that with my outfit, it would look cute. She pulled back the side of my hair with a flower clip and straightened my hair.

I looked in the mirror. I felt...girly. It wasn't a bad feeling; it was just unsettling to see myself in anything but a t-shirt and jeans.

My mother decided to walk into my closet at that moment with a stack of new clothes. Her jaw dropped, she gasped, and almost dropped the clothes. "Oh, Sera! What – how –"

My mom seemed like she was beyond herself. She had on a grin from ear to ear. Personally, I felt happy that I had made her so happy, but in all honesty, I still didn't like shopping and if she tried to get me to do this the next morning, I would most likely run away like I had done all my life. "Nessie helped me get dressed today," I said with a shrug.

"You look amazing, Sera! Really!" Mom exclaimed, dropping the stack completely, grabbed my hand, and spun me around. "I think this is the only outfit acceptable to wear Converse," she added with a wink.

I grinned broadly. The more I looked at myself in the mirror, the more I liked what I saw. Before, I had never given a second thought to what I looked like and could go days without looking at myself in the mirror. Sometimes, other people in my family would notice my physical changes well before I did. But now...I felt like a girl. I felt _pretty. _

I really noticed my eyes for the first time. They weren't a golden like my family's, or chocolate brown like Nessie's, or bright green like Allegra's, or even a deep brown like the wolves'. They were dark blue and bright, and from far away you could mistake them for black. But up close, they were an unmistakable sapphire blue. And they were all mine.

I realized that I _liked _my eyes. I didn't have very striking features – they were well-porportioned – but my eyes were wide, with eyelashes thicker than even Seth's or Uncle Edward's. How could I have never _noticed _any of this? I felt like for the past two years of my life, I had lived in a bubble that was narrowed to sports, my visions, learning new things, wondering when I was going to La Push next, and hanging out with Seth. Seven days ago when I _really_ noticed Seth, and since then, my world had widened considerably.

Once I had noticed my eyes, I began noticing other details about myself that I had overlooked. My skin was very fair and creamy and smooth, with a slight flush. It wasn't like Nessie's flush, which made her look fiery all the time, accompanied with her wild bronze curls for good measure. Mine was more subtle, but I realized that my skin, compared to Nessie's, looked smoother and richer, probably since I didn't have the extreme flush. My nose was small and curved, my lips were more full than I had ever realized, my eyebrows dainty. My hands and feet were small, but I had already realized that, since I used to complain that I couldn't hold a football without two hands and I couldn't play a guitar properly without lots of practice, trying to make up for their size. My hair...well, there wasn't much to say. My hair was virtually untameable, and was always in a mess. But today, it was sleek and shiny. I felt myself smile.

I had a new hope. I wasn't _ugly, _was I?

Then I had a thought that crushed my hopes to nothing. When did Seth ever actually _care _what I looked like? He would probably overlook what I was wearing, call me "kiddo," and then find away to get me dirty. Why would anything change? Why would he see that I had actually _tried? _

I _hated _being a hybrid! I felt my eyes fill with unwelcome tears again. _Darn, why do I always cry now? _I thought to myself as I brushed my tears away with the back of my hand. My mom rushed forward to hug me.

"Honey, why are you crying?" she asked, running her small fingers through my hair. I shook my head. I couldn't help myself. I was a hybrid. My excuse was that my body acted on its own whenever it pleased.

"Aunt Alice, she's got so many new hormones right now it's not even funny. I was crying over everything when I was that age," Nessie explained, giving me a sympathetic smile.

I cried sometimes when I was younger, but it was nothing compared to this. Now that's all I wanted to do. Was that normal?

"Mom, I'm all right," I promised, although I wasn't completely sure myself. If it had been anyone but Seth and his smile today, I would have stayed inside. I pulled back and wiped my face some more.

"Why are you crying?" my mom patiently asked for the second time.

I groaned and then threw my head in my hands. I felt so pathetic that it made me want to cry _again. _

I started talking in a low voice. "Why would anything change for Seth? He never paid attention to what I was wearing. Why would he start now? Why would he _c-care?_" Saying it out loud made it feel more of an odd reason to explain why I was crying, but inside it made me feel like I was going to vomit.

Mom hugged me tightly. "I'm sure he'll notice, sweetie," she promised.

Was it possible to feel like crying out of despair and feeling hopeful at the same time? Stupid hybrid emotions.

To add onto that, I heard Seth walk in through the door, adding anxiety on top of everything else.

Nessie and my mom smiled at me encouragingly. I felt like I was on a rollercoaster right now with my feelings. There was no more cool and confident Sera anymore. It was crazy-and-ready-to-burst-into-tears Sera, and I was still getting used to her.

Trying to remind myself to stay hopeful, I walked out of my ridiculously huge closet and out of my room.

Before walking downstairs, I went into my grandfather's study where Grandpa Carlisle was seated, going through the latest medical journal. He looked up when he heard me walk in and smiled warmly.

"Hello, Seraphina," he said, opening his arms for a hug. I hugged him back tightly, inhaling his comforting scent.

"Are you okay?" he asked, pulling me back and evaluating me. I blushed.

Seth once told me that he could always tell what I was feeling by my eyes. That fact was well-used by my family members.

"Nervous," I whispered, not wanting Seth to even get a gist of what I was saying. I heard him downstairs, laughing with Embry and Allegra and oddly enough, Aunt Rose. She had never been the wolves' biggest fan, especially to Jacob. From growing up around them, I knew that they disliked each other, but they were mostly just antagonistic. I knew that they were secretly growing on each other.

He smiled at me. "Nervous for?"

I blushed even deeper. "I-I have a...crush," I whispered even softer, forcing the word out. It was still uncomfortable for me.

"I take it on Seth," he said, putting a hand on my shoulder. I nodded.

"It's stupid," I muttered, furrowing my eyebrows.

"It's natural," he said, "I wish I could remember my first crush, but since I was born in the 1600's and I'm over 400 years old, it seems a bit silly to remember it, especially when I have Esme now."

I giggled. "Esme was your first crush."

He laughed. "In a way, yes. She was the first one that meant something."

I giggled again and then looked down. "Seth means something," I said softly.

"He does," Grandpa said, kissing my head.

"He imprinted on me," I said, looking up into his golden eyes.

He smiled again. "That he did."

"We'll be best friends forever," I said, looking back down. I felt silly, thinking about the time in my life when I thought that best friends got married. I had assumed that when I had heard Edward explain that Bella was his best friend. I thought it would be so cool to marry Seth, except without all of the "icky kissing stuff," as Allegra and even I had once put it.

"What's on your mind?" Grandpa asked, putting a finger on my heavily furrowed eyebrows and smiling gently.

"Flashbacks," I muttered.

He nodded. "Flashbacks with Seth?"

I nodded and blushed. "I was just remembering when I was little, I asked Seth to marry me because I thought that's what best friends did. I was dumb. Best friends _really_ don't get married." I put my hands in my pocket and looked down. I didn't want to _marry _Seth – that made me feel uncomfortable – I just thought he was my cute friend that I couldn't help but liking. And I knew that Aunt Bella and Uncle Edward fell in love before they became best friends or whatever. That didn't count.

"Sometimes they do," Grandpa said softly, suprising me.

What was he saying? "What – "

"Sera!" Seth called from downstairs, "Are you ready to go?" I could practically envision his grin on his face, and I didn't need psychometry or my dreams to know it.

Grandpa smiled and kissed my cheek. "Have fun, sweetie. Don't think about it too much. He'll always be your best friend. You're still the same Seth and Sera."

Seth and Sera. Right.

I hugged him once tightly. "Bye, love you."

Grandpa smiled. "I love you too, Sera. Now don't keep that boy waiting," he added with a grin.

I giggled and flitted out the door. I tried to push all of my nerves aside as I walked down the stairs shyly.

Seth's back was turned to me, talking to Daddy. I cleared my throat. "Hi. Are we ready to go?" I said.

Seth turned around and his face brightened. "Sera – hey! Nice outfit. I was just talking to your dad about something. How do you feel about going to the go kart track today?" he said excitedly, wagging his eyebrows, pulling out two tickets.

I couldn't help it. Seth was Seth – he was warm, eager, and always happy. _And he noticed my outfit, _I thought a little smugly. Any nerves I had subsided, and I laughed. "Sounds awesome," I said. We grinned at each other for a minute before running across the room and hugging each other tightly. Grandpa was right. It was just Sera and Seth.

A very cute Seth, but still Sera and Seth.

* * *

><p>So far, I was having a pretty amazing day. I felt silly for being so nervous before. I mean, even if my view had changed, Seth didn't. And I was happy just admiring him secretly.<p>

We arrived at the go kart track in Boise, and like a gentleman, Seth ran to the passenger side door and opened it for me. I tried to not let him see my blush and stupid smile.

We walked inside the track, and I was greeted with sounds of the small motors zooming everywhere at high speeds. I began jumping up and down excitedly. How did he get Daddy to agree to this? I watched as a go kart sped by where we stood, and I was bursting with excitement, practically dying to jump in one.

"Seth, this is so cool!" I explained, tugging at his hand and looking up at him. He eyed the zooming cars nervously.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

He looked down at me with pleading eyes. "Are...are you _sure? _I mean, we can back out at any time. We can...we can go to the movies or something!" He seemed enthralled with this better and _safer _idea.

I rolled my eyes and dropped my voice lower than what could be heard by human ears. "Half-vamp, remember? I could probably run as fast as these go karts. And my skin is impenterable – "

"So are you saying you're prepared for a crash?" His voice squeaked up two octaves and had his body turned towards the exit.

Seth just _had _to be protective. Even though it was practically impossible for me to get hurt and these speeds never bothered me. It didn't matter though. He had been this way all my life.

"C'mon, it'll be fine," I assured him. I grabbed his hand and started tugging with half-vamp strength. I swear, if I wasn't half-vamp, he wouldn't have gone anywhere near the tracks.

We were waiting in line, me still trying to convince him this was a good idea and stopping him about four times from trying to take me out of line to go do a "safer" activity.

We were finally at the front of the line, and I rolled my eyes at him – he was biting his nails down to the quick, his eyes glued to the go kart track and back onto me. I didn't blush this time when he gazed at me intently, because of the reason he was doing it. He was letting his imagination get the best of him, and was probably thinking this would be the last time he would ever see me. I pinched him to get him to stop being to nervous, and he let out a small yelp and muttered, "Ow."

We got to the front, and the girl taking our tickets immediately made me angry. Her jaw dropped a little bit when she saw Seth – _my _Seth – and I had to hold back a growl. My hands balled into fists.

"Why hello there," she purred, reaching across the podium, clearly exposing her breasts. Didn't she have any respect? I may have been physically ten and been alive for two years, but living in a family where every single person has a soul mate, I knew what she was doing – _flirting. _But didn't she have _any_ respect? I was _technically_ a child. She left a bad taste in my mouth.

Maybe it was venom. I wouldn't have been too sad if it had been that.

Seth handed her the tickets, and I saw with relief that he didn't even give her a second glance.

That girl, named Amber by her nametag, was giving him more than just two glances.

I felt a wave of despair wash through me when he smiled kindly at her. Why was he _smiling _at _her? _Why did she get a smile? What did she do to him to deserve that?

"You come here often?" she asked, batting her stupid eyelashes. Stupid. She was a stupid, incompetant, silly, moronic girl, and she was...ugh. She was _stupid._

I felt my eyebrows furrow, a habit that happened whenever I felt a lot of emotion, and I crossed my arms tightly, glaring at the girl.

I felt possession slice through me. Seth Clearwater was _mine. _I was his imprint, whatever that entailed, I was his best friend, I was his _priority _–

"I'm Amber," she said, reaching across the podium with her _stupid _breasts and then shaking his hand with her _stupid _hand.

I never hated someone's hand so much in my life. She was _touching him._

How many bites did it take to cause dismemberment?

_Stop it, Sera, _I told myself, willing myself to calm down. She was just a stupid girl, with a stupid name. I mean, Amber? That was a _color. _Why don't I just name myself Purple and get it over with?

Seth smiled again, which caused me to frown. "Seth Clearwater," he said, shaking back.

"Is that Native American?" she asked stupidly. _No, it's French, _I thought sarcastically, _What else would it be?_

He grinned. "Yeah. I'm from the Quileute rez in Washington."

Well, geez Seth. Why don't you tell the girl your entire life story? You forgot to mention the part about how you're a dang _werewolf. _I felt really...jealous. As jealous as I had been towards Hayden.

"Um, Seth?" I spit out.

He blinked and looked down at me. "Yes?"

"When are we going to have our turn?" I asked, lacing my fingers through his possessively.

"Aw, is she your sister?" that stupid Amber girl asked, grinning at me. Would it be wrong of me to punch her teeth in?

I felt my nails dig into my skin my fist was so tight. I didn't think someone could be this annoying until now.

"No, I'm not his _sister,_" I spit out, glaring at her.

"Babysitter?" she guessed, still smiling.

I hissed, but she didn't hear with her stupid human hearing. Seth looked down at me, shocked.

"Um, how much longer?" he asked awkwardly, squeezing my hand.

She looked down at the timer. "Actually, now. I guess I was too caught up talking," she said apologetically, even though she didn't look sorry for _anything._

Seth grinned. "It's all right," he said. All right? _All right? _Nothing about her or this situation was _all right! _She would not be talking to Seth right now if she had done her stupid job. Maybe she should get fired.

She was about to open the gate, but then she appraised me with her boring brown eyes. They weren't chocolate brown like Nessie's – they were muddy brown, like her _stupid_ personality.

"Are you tall enough?" she asked, rubbing salt on my wounds.

I crossed my arms and glared at her. "Yes," I growled.

Seth raised his eyebrow at me. As if she was trying to belittle me to the point of tears, she pulled out this stupid staaff with measurements on it, and made me stand next to it. I almost snapped the thing in half.

I couldn't describe anything about this situation as anything but stupid.

"Okay, you're about forty-two-and-a-half inches. You're tall enough."

"Awesome," I growled, stalking away towards Seth. She waved bye at Seth, but then caught my glare, and turned away with a confused look on her face.

I was almost to my go kart when Seth grabbed my shoulder and spun me around. "Hey Sera, are you okay – "

"I'm perfect," I spat, tugging my shoulder free and walking to my go kart. He stood there with an incredulous expression on his face.

The guy that was instructing me on the basics of driving slipped on my helmet as I slipped inside. I barely heard him; it wasn't too difficult. Go karts were almost _too _easy.

As soon as he stopped talking, I pushed my foot on the gas pedal. Right, gas. Left, brake. Easy.

I snickered when I saw Seth's jaw drop and he ran a little bit onto the track after me, until the same guy that taught me how to "ride" go karts stopped him and shook his head.

I turned my eyes back to the road. With my vampire clarity I saw every little detail of the track as it sped by me. I looped in figure 8's around the track twice before Seth caught up to me. I laughed when I saw him. His legs were sticking out awkwardly because of how tall he was, but he seemed to manage. I saw him shake his head at me.

I trilled a laugh and cut him off on the track, making him slow down considerably as I raced ahead. I heard him snort.

We rode for about ten more minutes until they announced it was time for us to get off. Drifting like a professional on the final turn, I pulled up into the parking area, where the guy was looking at me with awe. I got a special satisfaction from the stupid Amber girl who had her jaw dropped and was staring at me.

"Do you drive professionally?" the guy asked, pulling off my helmet. I shook out my hair.

"No, this is my first time," I told him.

"Are you serious? You're a natural!" he exclaimed, "How old are you?"

I hated when people asked me these questions. Internally, I panicked. "E-eleven," I stammered. I decided to go up a year to make it more believeable. Kinda.

"Do you want to join our go kart racing team – "

"_Racing? _Uh, no thanks," Seth said nervously, climbing out of his car and walking over to me. I rolled my eyes.

"Thanks, but no thanks. My bodyguard won't let me," I said snarkily, shaking my head at Seth. He grinned.

"Sorry, hon. Not happening." He smiled at me, which made it a little better.

I snorted. "Fine. Sorry, thanks anyways though," I said to the guy, who was staring at Seth like he was trying to size him up.

He looked back down at me. "What's the name again?"

"Janie," I said, shaking his hand. I used a fake name so if we ever saw each other again, and although it seemed unlikely, I could use a different name.

Hmmm. I haven't used psychometry in awhile. I realized that I had never used psychometry outside of the pack and my family. Would it be different for people I wasn't related to? Would it not be as strong? It's not like Grandpa would have me test it on some random stranger, and my opportunities to get out of the house were slim anyways. I decided to try it out.

Focusing my energy, I got the usual sharp burst of electricity that happened when I touched someone.

My eyes slid out of focus, feeling waves of the vision creeping over me. It was almost like drifting clouds; they came and they went. The world around me faded away, and instead, it was replaced with a world with dream-like, airy, and wispy qualities since nothing in the future was set in stone. Like it was happening in front of me, I saw a vision – this guy, named Will, was in love with Amber. They were going to get married on a spring afternoon where she would already be three months pregnant, and they were going to have four children named Lucy, Carson, Joseph, and Tanner.

Well, glad to know that Amber, although stupid, was capable of settling down.

I yanked my hand back. It passed by in less than a second, and it felt like a static shock. The natural reaction was to pull away.

"You okay? Did I shock you?" Will asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I mumbled, but grinned at him.

He looked a little confused, but smiled back. I grabbed Seth's hand, and shooting a quick glare at Amber, I stalked away with him.

"Can you explain to me what's going on?" he asked desperately, looking dangerously close to a puppy.

"About?"

"Well, first, what about you and that one chick? You looked like you were about to murder her."

I barked a laugh. "Close enough. I just didn't like her."

Seth raised his eyebrow but didn't press it, thankfully. "And what about the whole psychometry thing with that guy?"

"Just his future," I shrugged. I was still feeling hurt from earlier with Seth and Amber. I started walking away towards the snack bar where a couple people were standing in line, and Seth trailed after me.

"Do I get to know?" he pressed.

I shrugged. "He marries someone. No one important." Well, wasn't _that _the truth.

Seth nodded. The man in front of me turned around with his large soda. I was too small, so he didn't see me, and he bumped into me.

And of course, spilled the entire drink on my front.

The clothes that I had actually _worked _for.

Stupid.

I stood, paralyzed, trying to will myself to wake up from this horrible nightmare. First Amber, now this.

"Are you kidding me, dude?" Seth growled, taking a step towards the man.

"Accident," he said weakly.

It finally hit me that I would not be waking up from this nightmare. I looked down at myself – yeah, it was worse than I realized.

_Keep calm, Sera, _I said, feeling the close burn of tears.

"I didn't see the little tyke there – "

And _that _was the last straw.

"_Little tyke?_" I screeched, "How old exactly do you think I am?"

The man looked flabbergasted. "I – uh – I _thought _you looked about eight – "

I glared at him. "I'm _eleven!" _I yelled.

He scoffed at me, like he didn't take me seriously. The _nerve! _"Let's just calm down now."

I couldn't help it. Tears overflowed. But then again, when did I ever help it? It was too much for me – this stupid man didn't know that I was probably three times smarter than he was and was half-vampire, but still called me _tyke. _Because I was just a stupid girl.

A stupid girl with a soaking wet and sticky shirt.

He took a step back. "There's a gift shop over there...I'll buy you a new shirt," he said nervously.

"Yes you will," Seth said, glaring at him too. He put a hand on my shoulder.

I never thought I'd see the day where Seth actually _frightened _something since Seth was about as harmless as a fluffy bunny, but I guess that day was today.

The man practically ran to the gift shop, and Seth and I followed. I didn't really care what he bought me; it would be a stupid t-shirt, and I would look like nothing more than I ever did before.

The man handed me a generic red shirt with an apology, and nodding at him, I walked into the dressing room. Looking at myself in the mirror, I pulled off my floral shirt and cardigan, dropping it to the floor, and sliding on the t-shirt. My eyes were red from crying, so I wiped away my tears and evaluated myself in the mirror. It was a plain red t-shirt, about 2 sizes too big, covering almost all of my skirt. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't my outfit that I had planned out. The only outfit I had ever really cared about, and it was ruined with sticky soda somewhere at my feet.

And the tears started again.

I pulled myself together, telling myself I was being ridiculous. I _knew _I was being stupid. I couldn't think of a single person that cried as much as I did, and it only started about a week ago. I heard Seth knock on the door. "Sweetie? Are you dressed? Can I come in?" he asked nervously. Sighing, I opened the door.

He almost fell in face first, but then qucikly regained his posture. "Sera..." he said. He looked like he wanted to say something to me but then trailed off when he saw my face. He quickly sat on the stool and pulled me in for a hug. At that moment, he wasn't my cute friend Seth, or Seth-that-I-had-a-crush-on, he was _my _Seth. My best friend.

He pulled me back. "Did him spilling soda on you get you upset?" he asked.

I shrugged and looked down. I couldn't explain to him that it had been that particular outift that he had ruined was what upset me without explaining to him what I felt.

"Hybrid emotions?" he guessed, smiling a little, brushing a strand of hair away from my face.

I snorted. "Always."

"C'mon kiddo – "

I realized at that moment just how much I hated him calling me "kiddo." It made me feel small. Like I would perpetually be the little sister. "Please don't call me that," I whispered.

Seth looked flabbergasted. "What – 'kiddo'?"

I nodded, looking down at my now-stained Converse. My cheeks burned with embarrassment.

Seth appraised me for a few more minutes before relenting with a sigh. "Okay, I won't call you 'kiddo.'"

I nodded again, furrowing my eyebrows. "I don't know Seth...can we just go home?"

Seth sighed. "Whatever you want." I moved so he could get up, but he didn't walk out the door. I got the feeling that he was staring at me and wouldn't move until I looked up. I did so, and he was staring at me with a mixture of confusion, sadness, and a little hurt. My eyes welled up at the last part since I was the one who caused that. I felt sick to my stomach. "I love you, Seraphina," he said, kissing the top of my head. My face didn't flush this time. "Love you too, Seth," I told him, hugging him tightly and then releasing him.

Seth and I walked out to the car in silence. I could feel him casting long sideways glances at me, and I could practically feel the question in his eyes. I had acted so weird today, cried so much, behaved so _differently _that I didn't even feel like Seraphina Marie Cullen-Whitlock anymore. I felt like a crybaby.

After a silent ride home, I jumped out of the car and beelined into the house, not even looking back at Seth, although I could feel him right behind me.

The energy in the house was completely different though.

All I felt was excitement and wonder, and all I heard was everyone talking ecstatically at one time. For a brief minute I was curious, but I could feel the tears coming again, so without saying hello to anyone, I darted up to my room, closed the door, and cried myself to sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Seth POV<strong>

I watched my imprint dart up the stairs with worry.

Her emotions have been practically punching me in the gut since the moment we got in line with that lady taking our tickets. What was her name again? Ashley? Anna? I vaguely remember her name starting with an A, but if I had previously cared to commit her name to memory, it was washed away by Seraphina, who looked dangerously close to lunging at A-girl. I could feel that she was angry, clouded by possession.

After that, she had been angry, and I could feel her despair as well. I could have been blind and seen that Sera was close to crying after that, and when that dipshit dumped his sode all over my poor little girl, something inside her broke, and she started crying.

I don't think I had ever seen Sera cry so much. She had never been much of a crier because she said that it didn't do much, but now...it was like an endless river.

I heard a gut-wrenching sob distinctly thorugh all of the excited talk downstairs. I had an overwhelming desire to go upstairs and hug her, but my intuition said that she needed her alone time.

Instead, I walked to where the action was, dragging my feet.

Until I hit a wall.

I didn't even see what happened. One minute, I had been walking to the living room where everyone was. Next minute, I was flat on my back, staring at the ceiling.

"NICE!" Emmett boomed, slapping someone's hand that I couldn't see.

Rubbing my forehead, I pulled myself into a sitting position, a look of confusion on my face. "Can anyone explain to me why I ran into an invisible wall?" I would have cared more, but I had a strong pull at the pit of my stomach that kinda made me want to puke.

Embry's face was lit up so brightly I thought he should have Christmas lights hung from him. "I always knew my little girl was special," he said proudly, kissing Allegra's cheek. She looked flushed with excitement.

"Huh?" I muttered intelligently.

He frowned. "Nice enthusiasm, Clearwater. Where's your usual jackass grin?"

I looked down at my feet. "I had a bad day. Now what's going on?" I asked, eyeing Jasper, and changing the subject.

Embry's chest puffed out. "Allegra has a gift," he said.

"She can...make force fields?" I asked. I felt a little slow.

Embry scoffed, but Carlisle talked over him before he could say something sarcastic and mildly insulting. "More like a physical shield," Carlisle explained, "Force field describes a warping of energy. She doesn't necessarily do that...it's like it's her own shield. Not the surrounding energy."

I felt myself smile despite my crappy mood. "So now we have a physical shield, a mental shield, two fortunetellers, an empath, and a mind reader," I said, "Now we're _really _protected against the Volturi." I was hopeful of this. Allegra's power was highly useful.

Too bad her power couldn't go back in time and and completely rewrite today.

"My thoughts exactly," Emmett said, sprawled out on the living room couch with Rosalie sitting on top of him.

The room then continued talking excitedly among itself, while Japser approached me. "Come outside?" he asked quietly.

I got up from the floor and followed him out to the porch. He turned around, his face worried. "What happened to Sera?" he asked.

I sighed. "She got angry at this girl working the ticket counter at the go kart track. And then some guy spilled soda all over her shirt. It's been a bad day," I explained, sitting heavily on one of the benches.

He paused and then sat down next to me. "Did anything else happen?"

"I called her 'kiddo.' She told me not to call her that anymore." I rubbed my temple. That was really weird. I had called her kiddo all her life. Why was she acting this way?

"She's growing up," he explained, leaning back into the chair.

"She is," I agreed, leaning back too.

I thought long and hard about the fact that she was growing up. I mean, of course it was visible to the naked eye – anyone could see it. She was two years old and physically ten, which in itself was crazy. She was smarter than any other person I had ever met, including her genius aunts and uncles. She moved like a ballerina, had enough intelligence to take over the world, and grew fast enough to make science question everything it's ever known. She was almost too good to be real.

But she was _Sera. _Sera, the girl who hated shopping, loved baseball and the Giants more than life itself, couldn't go a day without playing some kind of sport, failed miserably at videogames, whose heart and soul was connected to music, cared for others so deeply, loved with a passion, was so _vibrant _and _beautiful._

Of course I thought Sera was beautiful, but not in the creepy way. Sera, from the moment I laid eyes on her, I knew that she was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen, and I would give my life for her with a smile on my face. I had _imprinted _on her. I knew somewhere in the back of my mind that we were soul mates and things would start changing sooner than I would probably realize, but for now, she was Sera, my best friend, my imprint. My whole life revolved around her existance.

I didn't know if things had changed for her yet or not. But I think she knew that deep down, I would always be her best friend, through think and thin and _then _some.

Sitting on the front porch, I watched the sunset, a good way to end a stupid day.

I came to two conclusions at that moment as I heard Sera slip into a soft snore.

One, Sera and I were best friends, and I didn't – _couldn't _– see her in that light yet. It was impossible for me to even imagine her as anything else but my perpetual best friend. I couldn't even imagine what she would look like in a year's time.

Two, I knew that Sera was a live wire. But she was also kind, generous, loving, and downright beautiful. I knew I would be in trouble when she got older. *

_A/N: -hides behind couch-_

_Don't hate Seth for not realizing her feelings! She's TEN, mind you. That'd be a little creepy if he realized them now. And like Sera said, him liking her back made her uncomfortable. She was happy to just have a secret crush on the kid. _

_HAVE A WONDERFUL NEW YEARS, EVERYONE. (:_

_Love you until 12.21.12 when we all are supposed to die,_

_Chels._


	14. Awkward

_A/N: This chapter is pathetic, like half as long as my usual ones, but this is more of a filler chapter and the last chapter as Sera in her preteens. Then we're moving onto the teen years! (;_

_So, this chapter. I had an amazing amount of trouble writing this. I literally wrote three versions of this chapter. Originally, this was going to be a collection of one-shots, and then I was going to skip over this all together, but this was an important milestone, ahahahaha._

_Sorry for all the guys reading this. This is awkward. I'm a guys' girl, so talking about girl stuff is awkward for me too. Maybe we can be awkward together? (:_

_Things are gonna start picking up from here, and definitely going into the M storyline. Before now, I've just drabbled in it a little bit, but now. NOW. I'm so excited. :D_

_P.S. Sorry I'm such a butt. Because I couldn't decide where to go with this chapter, it took me forever, longer than the rest. I'm not expecting a whole lot of reviews on this chapter since this is more of a bridge than anything and not the most interesting. Sorry guys, bear with me. _

**No chapter song this time. **

* * *

><p><strong>Sera POV<strong>

_The places my dreams take me! Just last night, I was wandering La Push with Seth, and tonight...here. Wherever "here" was. _

"_Here" happened to be in the form of a sprawling white world with huge marble pillars surrounding me, although the seemed to be supporting no building or anything in particular. The world had no substance or boundaries or anything, really. Sprawling of white, but it had an air of mystery to it. I walked up to one of the pillars and ran my fingers against it. It was probably the smoothest thing I had ever felt in my life, softer than a feather, although I could tell that this pillar was under a great deal of stress. I could feel the tension it suffered surrounding it like a blanket._

_My touch left a gray mark on the perfect white pillar. I examined my hand. No, they were clean...were they not clean enough for this pillar?_

"_The pillars don't like you touching them," said a woman's voice from far away in the distance, although I heard it as clear as a bell. The voice sounded like honey and warmth and everything good._

"_Who are you?" I asked, turning around and searching for wherever the voice came from until I spotted a figure in the far distance._

_Her ravenous black hair floated around her as she glided towards me with her hand extended slightly. She was cloaked in white drapes from an era of time that I couldn't place, as hard as I tried. Roman? Even earlier? They looked ageless and ancient at the same time._

_But here, I couldn't think much. I could only feel. And I could feel the strangest sense of familiarity and melancholy from this woman._

_She looked tired. Her face itself was perfect – full lips, high cheekbones, oval face – but there was something very average looking too. I noticed the uneveness of the color of her pale skin, the small little freckles splashed along her nose. A few flaws here and there._

_I realized now that she was human. Or as human as you could be here._

"_Am I dead?" I asked again, suddenly terrified. Why was I here? My dreams meant that it would eventually become a reality – someway, somehow. They could be prevented, but this meant that there was a good chance that, if this was heaven, I was going to die._

"_You're not dead, sweetie," she said gently, although she didn't seem quite convinced._

"_Then where am I?" I asked._

"_You're almost dead," she said with a sad undertone, "You're in-between."_

"_In...between? Between what?" I asked cautiously, wondering how I ever got to this state. Was this a vision?_

_She smiled, her eyes sparkling, completely erasing all "human" flaws. She looked marvelous, and I watched her in awe. "Between your world and whatever's next."_

"_What's next?" I asked again._

_Her face broke into a wonderful full-toothed smile, and I felt like I had to cover my eyes from the brightness emitting from her. "That's up to you to find out, sweetie. You can leave this in-between with me, and I can take you to what's next, or you can stay here and fight to stay on Earth." She seemed a little saddened at the idea._

_Fighting. Thinking. Why? I could stay here. _

"_This place seems nice," I said tenatively, looking around at the white pillars and the clouds floating around us. Everything was bright and amazingly white here, and I felt oddly at peace, although I had a nagging sense of guilt in the pit of my stomach. _

_She gave me an odd sort of smile. "Maybe now, but this place isn't safe. This place does not sift through the good and bad souls. Whether or not you're good or bad, if you come here, you're here until you decide what's next."_

"_Would someone hurt me? I'm half-vampire," I said, looking down at the frothing white floor. I didn't feel like I was standing on something solid, but rather hovering. It felt like I was detatched from my body, which in a way, I was._

_Whatever that meant._

_She gently ran her fingers through my hair, and I closed my eyes at her touch. Familiar. "Here, you're Seraphina. Not the half-vampire, half-human, or the future-seer, or the imprint of Seth Clearwater. Here, you can be just Sera."_

_Just _me?_ And what about Seth? His name brought the guilt I was feeling up to the front with a vengeance. I clutched at my stomach, feeling shaky, feeling the odd drapery I was wearing as well. It was soft as a feather and sharp as pine needles, warm like fresh laundry and cold as ice. The sweetest smell on Earth and the most repulsive._

_It was everything good and bad in life. _

"_Seth will miss me," I whispered, feeling a tear drip from my face and onto the frothing floor, disappearing into the clouds._

"_Seth will find his way to you, whether it be living or dead. He cannot be without you," she said with a voice like warm honey._

_Her voice did the opposite to me though. It made me feel cold – cold, and very very scared. "Will he kill himself?" I squeaked._

_She adopted the perfect poker face. "Perhaps," she said off-handedly._

_Why was she acting like this? If I had been on Earth, or this had been real life, my palms would have been sweaty, my heart would have been racing, and I probably would have been crying. Seth...dying? Those two didn't connect in my head. Seth was the epitome of life. _

"_He can't! No, never! Please, whoever you are, can you show me him, wherever he is?" I begged, clutching at her odd robes. I felt her hand float through my hair again, although it didn't have the same comforting effect._

"_If you wish to see him, you must fight, Seraphina," she said sadly, taking a step back from me. _

"_I'm sick of fighting. I don't want to fight! Please, one last time," I said, falling to my knees and pulling her in towards me. She was all I had in this strange world, and if she left, I wouldn't know what to do._

_Where did that come from? Fighting? I had never fought in my life. But I wasn't speaking for me. I was having a vision, I was sure of it._

_I felt her warm finger slide my chin up to her face. "Earthly woes cannot decide your fate here. You either give up what you have on Earth and live in peace with me, or you can continue your fight on Earth."_

_My choice. My choice. Why was it my choice? And why did I have to decide to stay or go when I couldn't see Seth or my family or even know why I was fighting in the first place? But I didn't speak for me here._

_I pulled myself off of the ground, and stood up to face her. I wiped my tears away with the back of my hand, looking out into the endless distance. Everything was so nice here. Nice, but dangerous. How was it any different that Earth? On Earth, I was a half-vampire. And back on Earth, apparently there was a fight brewing. There _was _no fighting here. Only peace._

_I made up my mind._

_I looked back at her face. She was smiling ear to ear, glowing like an angel._

"_Come on, sweetie," she said, and offered me her hand. I took it, and began walking with her into the light, envisioning only Seth, one last time. I really would miss him..._

"Agh!" I flipped out of bed and landed gracefully onto my feet, pulling myself into a crouch, my heart racing. I growled quietly, my body preparing for a fight...

...that wasn't in my bedroom at the present moment.

What was I doing though? There wasn't a threat. It was a _dream._

But I had never had a dream like that! My dreams always took on a wispy quality because nothing was set in stone, but in my dream...it's like it was _supposed _to be airy and wispy.

Did that mean that it was going to happen for sure?

I didn't know what scared me more – the fact that I was there, the fact that there might be nothing I could do to stop it, or the fact that I actually _gave up the fight. _I didn't know what I was fighting, but I knew that I couldn't just _leave! _Especially Seth. I couldn't leave him.

Oh Seth...

I hated my dreams sometimes.

I straightened up thinking about who I should tell without them freaking out. Who _could _I tell? Claire, maybe, but she would tell Quil and he would definitely would tell Seth. Not Mom or Dad. Uncle Edward might already know. Aunt Bella, maybe. Nessie would tell Jake, and Seth would see it in Jake's head the next time they phased.

It seemed like I couldn't tell anyone. I didn't even know what that dream _meant._

I flipped the covers back from my bed, planning on slipping back inside and sleeping for another hour or so.

Until I _saw _my bed, seeing only red cover my sheets, like something out of a horror movie.

I let out an ear-piercing scream.

* * *

><p><strong>Seth POV<strong>

It began like any normal day in the Cullen's house. Well, as normal as going to a coven of vampires to visit a supernatural girl who was two and looked twelve could get.

I got there bright and early, like eight in the morning, especially in the summer. Who gets up at 8 in the morning during the summer unless you have an imprint? I walked in without knocking, per usual, because I had long since exceeded my guest status, and found that Esme was cooking chocolate chip pancakes. She made the best ones, even better than my mom's, and that was saying something.

I walked into the dining room table and sat down next to Jake who was talking with Allegra, and Nessie who was talking to Embry. I thought it was nice that everything was okay between them now. Jake at least didn't have the bitter edge to his thoughts anymore. Hey, it was a step, right?

"Hello Seth," Esme said sweetly, walking over with a kitchen apron on and a spatula in hand. She ducked down to kiss my cheek. I smiled widely at her, feeling immediately at home.

"Hey Esme, smells great," I said, and she smiled. "Thank you Seth, they should be ready in a few minutes," she said, and flitted off to go flip the pancakes.

God I loved it here. This was the closest thing I had to home away from La Push. To me, this _was _home. Especially with Sera, because without her, no where was home.

I was thinking about her like I usually do. Where should I take her today? I know that all the Cullens got back from their trips about a week ago, but I couldn't get enough one-on-one Sera time. She had stopped acting really weird around me, and now, it was more like she blushed when I did certain things, but not much more. I had talked to Leah about it a few months back, and I had gotten my ass chewed out.

"_Hello?" Leah said into the phone happily, and I heard Lucas on the other hand screaming "Lee, who dat, who dat!" I smiled. Leah sounded spectacular, like she always did nowadays. And Lucas sounded happy._

"_It's the brother," I said, pulling out a wallet picture of Sera. She looked about six in the picture, sitting on my shoulders at La Push beach. She was grinning widely into the camera, her smile so bright she looked like the sun. I was staring up at her with complete adoration, the look that devout people give their gods. She had aged twice that since then. It had been a whole day since I saw her last, and it felt like I was being stabbed over and over again, I missed her so much. But what could I say around her? Ever since I caught her staring at me shirtless when we went fishing, things had been kinda...awkward._

"_Hey little brother, what's going on?" she said, and I heard her shift the phone, probably so she could pick up Lucas._

"_I need some advice," I said tenatively, chewing my lip. _

"_Bring it," she said immediately, hearing some more shifting on the other end._

"_Lee, what are you doing?" I had to ask, since I didn't wanna call her on a bad time._

"_Just – putting – Lucas in his high chair..." she said. And then I heard the phone drop onto the floor._

"_Shi – shoot! That wasn't very nice, Lucas. You should know better than to hit phones out of people's hands!" she chastisized, and then I heard the phone being lifted off the floor. Lucas was giggling. "I swear, this kid will kill me. To think I wanted one," she joked, but I heard the love in her voice. I chuckled._

"_You don't seem to be suffering," I reminded her, and she laughed._

"_Guess not," she said, "Hey, I'm gonna put you down for a few seconds. Let me just get him something to eat."_

_I agreed, and leaned back into my chair. I heard her conversation with the newly two-year-old._

"_Lucas, what do you want to eat?" she asked him, although it was more muffled since I wasn't part of the conversation._

"_Circle toast!" he screamed. Circle toast?_

"_Circle toast for lunch? That's breakfast. How about a sandwich – "_

"_CIRCLE TOAST!" I winced and pulled the phone away from my ear. That boy had a set of lungs. Must've been genetic. Sam was loud too, except that his true mini-me was Aria with her voice and wicked temper. Mason took after his mother, while Lucas seemed like an even divide. _

_I heard Leah sigh. "Lucas, your momma's gonna kill me if I feed you waffles for lunch – "_

"_Lucas want CIRCLE TOAST! CIRCLE TOAST!" Well, that explained the mystery of the circle toast. Poor Leah. She was gonna cave for sure._

_Leah sighed again. "Fine, but if I get in trouble, it's on you, kid," she grumbled. I heard more ruffling on the other end._

_After a few more seconds, she picked the phone back up. "Sup," she said, although it wasn't as excited as before._

_I chuckled. "Circle toast?" I said._

_She snorted. "That's what he calls it for some reason, but now he's got us all saying it," she explained, "So what about the advice...?"_

"_Yeah," I said, my mind sicking back to Sera, "I need some advice with her. She's awkward around me now. She blushes whenever I do something and I catch her staring at me for extended periods of time – "_

"_You're seriously asking about this?" she snapped immediately. I felt myself pout. What did I do?_

"_Hey, I don't pretend to understand Sera! Why is she acting like this?" I wined, hitting my head against the wall. Was I _that _clueless? Was was I missing? I would _pay_ the person who understood Sera. I don't even think Edward understood her, and he read her mind._

"_Are you serious, Seth? You practically spelled it out!" She sounded exasperated. I still wasn't following._

"_Spelled out what?" I said rather lamely._

_I heard her growl on the other end. "Hold on Lucas honey, let me step out of the room for a second," she said with a sugar-sweet voice. I winced. This wasn't going well._

_I heard a door open and close. "You're a dipshit," she growled._

"_Why?" I complained._

"_Oh my god. How did I get related to an idiot? Sera. Likes. You. Things are changing for her – "_

"_ALREADY?" I squeaked out. What the hell. Seriously? Leah had to be mistaken._

_And of course, now that my sister spelled it out, _now _I saw it. The blushing. The jealousy. It was all there. _

_I really was a dipshit._

_How did I ever pick up women when I wasn't imprinted? Seriously? I was clueless._

"_Yeah, already. She's what, like physically ten? Despite popular opinion, most crushes happen during that time," she said in a rather bored voice, which made my lip jut out again._

"_Stop talking down on me," I grumbled._

"_Fine, whatever, dipshit. I can't believe you called for that. You literally _spelled it out – "

"_Got it, Leah," I mumbled, rubbing my forehead. I don't think this advice helped, even though I understood now. _

"_I gotta go back inside," she said, and I heard the door open and close again._

"_Okay, love you, sis," I said, despite her namecalling. You had to understand Leah to know that that's how she showed affection._

_She sighed. "Love you too. Don't be too much of an idiot. And if you are, tell Jacob that he's acting as my 'hurt-Seth-when-he's-acting-overly-dumb' unit."_

"_I'll tell him," I grumbled. For a happy person now, she still could be overly-sarcastic Leah._

_She chuckled. "Bye, love you," she said, and hung up._

_Oh, Leah._

So yeah. If that didn't confuse me more, than I didn't know what did.

It wasn't supposed to happen like that! It was supposed to be me that falls first and _then _her. But here she was, having a crush on me _already, _and just the thought of me having a crush on her made me feel like a pedophile.

Then again, there's never been a girl quite like Sera either.

I had been way too caught up thinking about Sera. I felt someone hit me on the back of my head.

"Huh?" I said intelligently, looking around the table and blinking back into reality.

"You were daydreaming!" Allegra said, grinning, sitting on Nessie's lap.

I looked over at Jacob, who had hit me. He was shaking his head. "I've never met someone so spacey in my life. Your pancakes have been sitting in front of you for the past 5 minutes, bro."

I looked down at my pancakes and realized that Jacob and Embry were already halfway done with their meal. I blushed a little bit.

"Um, thanks," I mumbled, grabbing the silverware and began cutting into my delicious-smelling meal.

"Thinking about Sera?" Embry said with a shit-eating grin. I rolled my eyes.

"What else would I think about?" I murmured, taking a bite. I almost moaned. Esme was amazing, truly.

Embry and Jake snickered.

"You know, guys – " Nessie began, but she never finished it.

Because I heard a deafening scream from upstairs.

You lnow those moments in life where it takes you almost zero time to react, but in your mind those moments seem to take forever to play out? I heard every window in my life shatter with that scream, from a voice and a person I knew all too well and cared about more than life itself. I felt my soul tear apart inside me like a savage animal had gotten to it, like it had been fed to a hungry tiger or a bear.

I don't think you know what it's like for an imprinted wolf to hear a scream like that coming from their very reason of existance. Torture. I would drag myself across a dozen sharp knives, light myself on fire, get hit by four buses, and dip myself in acid long before I would ever want to hear that scream ever escape my imprint's lips.

I shot out of my chair, flinging it toward the opposite wall and splintering it to nothing. I shot upstairs at a speed that would rival a vampire's, feeling some vampires close on my tail.

I burst through the door not five seconds after the scream. The door fell uselessly to the ground, the sound it made sounding closer to a gunshot than anything.

The first thing I saw was Sera, staring wide-eyed at her bed. Standing. That was good. Standing was good. It meant that she wasn't physically hurt.

I almost begged to differ when I saw all the blood.

There was blood, _everywhere. _All over her sheets, her white nightgown, covering her entire lower half. It was a sea of red, so bad I thought she got stabbed.

I was never religious, but I sent a prayer up to God as I ran over to my imprint and lifted her into my arms. _God, if you're listening, make her be okay. Make Sera be perfect like she usually is..._

She clutched at her stomach. "Agh, it hurts," she muttered, her forehead falling to my chest. My heart sprinted into double time.

I saw Jacob and Nessie and Embry and Allegra standing at the foot of the stairs. When they saw her, they all let out a collective gasp. Allegra whimpered.

"Carlisle, Edward, _someone,_" I choked out as Sera let out another whimper.

"Give her to me," said a ringing voice behind Nessie.

Rosalie flitted to my side and automatically took Sera into her arms. "You have a medical degree?" I asked, feeling unsure. My imprint was covered with _blood, _after all.

"Yes," she responded, and took her into Carlisle's office, and I followed close behind. That is, until Nessie stopped me with her hand.

"What are you doing?" I asked, shocked.

"Rose is gonna be examining her _lower half, _Seth," Nessie explained, raising her eyebrow at me.

"So? She could be dying," I choked out, my heart stuttering and my stomach dropping somewhere at my feet. I didn't register anything Renesmee was saying to me.

Nessie patted my shoulder. "I have a sneaking suspicion I know what it is," she told me, sighing.

I was about to ask her what she knew when she stepped away from me and into Carlisle's office and shut the door.

I stared at the barrier between me and my imprint, my mouth hanging open, just like how Nessie had left me hanging. I had no idea what was wrong with Sera, or if she would be okay. All I had to do was wait.

Easier said than done.

* * *

><p><strong>Sera POV<strong>

"It hurts," I moaned, my head baging on the examining table. It felt like that one time when Emmett tackled me during football, his shoulder going straight into my gut. It hurt, a lot. My dad almost ripped off Uncle Emmett's arm, and when Daddy told Seth what happened, he glared at Emmett for three days after that, and whenever Emmett tried ot speak to Seth, it came it in short, clipped, angry tones, tones I had never even known Seth was possible of making.

This kinda felt like that, Uncle Emmett's shoulder in my gut. Except with blood.

I was scared. I had never seen this much blood in my life, and this was coming from someone who lived with vampires. I was glad I wasn't appealing to them.

"Sera, I'm going to lift your dress, sweetie," Aunt Rose said, patting my shoulder. I nodded in consent. She used to bathe me, after all. I didn't care, especially if I had an open gash from my stomach.

She carefully lifted my dress, looked for a second, and pulled it back down. I furrowed my eyebrows. That was it?

Agh, another punching-feeling in my stomach. I clutched it uselessly, like it would help.

"What's wrong with me?" I choked out. A particularly bad one hit me, and I curled my legs into my body. I didn't even notice Nessie was here until she said something.

"They're bad for hybrids, I would know," she said beside me, rubbing my shoulder. My jaw dropped a little bit.

"What's wrong with me?" I demanded.

Nessie rolled her eyes. "Chill, Sera. You're not dying."

Dying sent a chill reminder of my dream earlier. I shuddered.

"Sera, it's our fault for not explaining it to you," Rosalie explained, patting my head. I raised my eyebrow just as Grandma, Bella, and Mom walked in.

"Oh honey, we're sorry," Mom said, racing over to hug me. I hugged her back tenatively since I didn't know why she was apologizing. Why _would _she be apologizing?

"I think she's confused," Bella whispered to Grandma. I nodded in agreement.

"I am. Why am I bleeding everywhere?" I asked. Another punching feeling. I had to bite back my groan.

"Sweetie, I think it's time we give you 'the talk,'" Grandma said sympathetically. The talk? Talk about what?

"What you're having is a period," Nessie explained a little bluntly.

My mouth dropped again. And then I blushed. And then I furrowed my eyebrows.

Well, at least I wasn't dying. At least I understood.

"Why don't you take a shower, and then we'll talk?" Bella suggested, "A nice ol' long one. It'll help."

I nodded woodenly. So I wasn't stabbed, beaten, or had an organ punctured. I was normal. _This _was normal.

Well, maybe not to this extent, but it was normal.

Maybe? Kinda.

I slid off the table slowly, even by human standards. I had five pairs of arms rush over to help me, but I waved them away. "Thanks, you guys. I got this."

"We'll talk when you get back," Mom promised, giving me a hug with one arm. Another punching feeling. Ouch.

I winced around my pain. "Okay, I'll return in a few minutes," I said, and walked slowly to the bathroom.

I had barely opened the door when Seth almost fell face-first inside, much to my embarrassment. I was still covered with blood. "Sera!" he said with relief.

"I'm okay," I muttered, trying to look anywhere but at his face. I could feel my eyebrows winding together and my face turning crimson. _Greaaaaaaat._

"Honey, what's wrong? Oh god, please tell me. Why are you covered in blood? Was it someone else's?" he added with a lower voice. My jaw dropped with shock. Was he serious?

"Wha – no! No Seth, I did not get covered in _someone else's blood,_" I scoffed. Did he really think so lowly of me?

"Okay, okay," he said, backing up and throwing his hands up in surrender. I shook my head at him.

"I'm going to the bathroom," I said as a way of goodbye. As much as I loved and adored Seth, this was too awkward.

"Wait Sera, hold on," he said, grabbing my shoulder, "What happened?"

My face probably looked like a tomato. Oh body, why? "Seth..." I muttered.

"What?" he begged, giving me _that face, _the puppy-dog face I couldn't resist. Darn it all!

"Think about it," I muttered, looking down at my ankles. Ground, if you're listening, this would be a perfect time to open your great mouth and eat me whole. I would go willingly. "I'm physically around twelve now. Don't you remember Leah growing up? What do girls this age get in order to transcend into 'womanhood'?" I air-quoted. This was _so _embarrassing.

His eyes widened in shock, and then he blushed deeply. Guess he got it. "I – uh, oh. That, uh, makes sense. Okay, um – I'm just gonna...go..." he muttered, jerking his thumb in the direction he was going. I nodded, although it probably seemed more like a head jerk.

_So _embarrassing.

"Yep," I said, and I practically ran to the bathroom.

The girls could come in here to talk to me. I wasn't ready to go out and face Seth, possibly ever. That probably was the most embarrassing moment of my very short life.

The joys of being a hybrid.

* * *

><p><em>AN: After this, onto the teen years!_

_This chapter was short, but it has meaning. _

_I'll see you next time. ;)_

_-Chels._


	15. Fades to Black

_A/N: So, I'm poop, I know. I posted Chapter 14 twice, 'cause my phone ran out of storage, therefore I didn't get my usual email notification saying I updated. So I thought it just didn't update. _

_I re-updated, and then deleted my phone storage, coming to find out I had a shit ton of email notifications and I actually HAD updated. Sooooo. Sorry. Don't hate me. D:_

_I don't know about YOU GUYS, but how about 'em Niners, eh? ;) Vernon Davis, I love you, and you're brilliant. That Saints game was motherfucking INTENSE._

_^^sorry, I'm a sports fan. That's where Sera gets inspiration. :D_

_I hope this chapter is as intense as I'm meaning it to be. Yes, I said intense. Reviews are VITAL at this point. (;_

_And I'm also going to try to respond to all of your reviews now. If I hadn't in the past, that doesn't mean that I don't appreciate your comment, because trust me, I absolutely do, and I read them all, and I love you. I'm just a lazy and forgetful fuck, so you can send me a private message telling me that I'm shit for not responding or updating fast enough and I'll probably agree with you. :D_

_But besides that. I love you. Thank you for sticking it out this far. I can't believe this story has almost FIFTY REVIEWS so far, and so far all of them positive. That's more than I could have ever asked for. I seriously love you guys, and there's been a few moments where you guys have made me tear up a little bit. :')_

_With some SERIOUS xoxoxoxo's,_

_Chels._

**Chapter Song: **_Without the Bitter the Sweet Isn't As_ _Sweet_ by Mayday Parade.

"_Until you are broken, you don't know what you're made of."_

_~Anonymous_

* * *

><p><strong>Sera POV<strong>

_You can do this, Sera. Just Seth, just Seth... _

Just Seth.

"Agh!" I exclaimed, throwing my necklace to the other side of the large room. It hit the wall with a muffled _plunk _and then fell in a heap on the floor, a heap that I would no doubt be untangling later. I had been trying hopelessly for the past five minutes to clasp the idiotic thing around my neck, but every time Seth passed through my mind (which was all the time, every second of the day), my hands would start shaking.

I saw myself in the mirror and hissed violently. My hair was sticking in every direction, almost as if it was taunting me.

Would it be beyond me to just cut it all off?

My mother would never allow it though. So instead, it fell down to my tail bone, past my waist. And it was a frizz ball at the current moment.

Well, that'd be an understatment. "Current moment" implies that it usually _isn't _like that._ My_ hair...not so much.

I ran my fingers through the rat's nest on the top of my head and plopped down onto the floor. I would _never _look good.

Maybe I should just forever wear dance shorts and old camisoles. My lacking of caring for anything having to do with fashion might shine through for the millionth time in my life and people would hopefully stop expecting me to get dressed up.

There was one troublesome thing though.

Whenever I was with Seth, I _wanted _to look good. Of course I wanted him to notice me...I was growing up. Grandpa said that my growth was slowing dramatically, especially from last summer to this summer, and I looked close to fifteen going on sixteen. After this year or the next, I would stop growing. Give or take a few more developmental years and the process would stop all together.

I almost banged my head against the wall. Seth didn't notice _anything._ My biggest fan was Leah because she agreed with me wholeheartedly. She told me that Seth's always been a little clueless.

_Please Seth, notice me at least once..._

I guess it's a little hard to say how long I've been in love with him.

I guess when I turned fourteen physically I started falling for him. I can't give an exact date...love doesn't work like that. It's gradual, and sometimes you can feel it creeping on you, but at other times, you're clueless. I was sitting in his house one afternoon, all alone, waiting for him to finish patrolling, when he showed up, filthy and wet, with the absolute hugest smile on his face I think I had ever seen.

"_Hey there, Sera," Embry greeted as he walked in. I nodded once at him, barely acknowledging him, my eyes searching for Seth. _

_He walked into the room, looking...maginificent. He was shirtless with a few dirt smudges here and there, but that was barely noticeable. It didn't flaw him in anyway, but rather made him look more beautiful and wild, like an ancient warrior._ _His beautiful copper skin shone through, illuminating the entire room. But what really struck me was his face. His absolutely flawless face._

_He walked into the room, and when he saw me...it was amazing. Indescribable. His face went from that to a neutral expression to lighting up like the brightest moon and all the stars and suns and everything pure in the world. His eyes glowed with warm chocolate-honey orbs, his eyes lighter than his brothers' or even mine..._

_I had never seen anything more perfect in my life._

_I felt myself fill, expand, _move _with the gravity of what I was feeling. Seth was amazing. Seth was here. Seth was everything. _

_His deep honey-chocolate eyes melted into mine._

_I was home._

_My heart was erractic, my breath coming in little gasps of air, almost like I was breathing trhough a straw. He rushed over to my side, moving like a graceful snake. He even _moved _beautiful..._

"_Sera, are you okay?" he asked worriedly, his eyes so close to mine...his _mouth..._his arms wrapped protectively around me..._

_Forget responding. His arms were around me, his arms were staring right into my _soul, _and he was here._

_With me._

_I felt like someone had just thrown a hammer at my head._

_I realized at that moment that I would forever need Seth Henry Clearwater, like I needed air to breathe or anything else vital to my survival. I needed him, so much._

_I loved him. But how could I not?_

"_Hi," I whispered, a small smile curving at my lips._

_His answering smile was magnificent. His full lips stretched back over his white teeth, making my heart skip a beat or two. "Hi," he whispered back._

_I felt his hand weave through mine tightly, and I squeezed back. I didn't have any qualms or stupid blushing or furrowed eyebrows. I was mine – my own – and Seth was more of me than I was of myself. He had me, from that day on._

I layed on my back and stared at the ceiling. My arms crossed my chest, holding my rib cage in, almost as if my fluttering heart would break free somehow and I was trying to keep it in. I closed my eyes tightly. _If only, if only..._

I had began to doze off, and my dreams were beginning to take shape. I was stuck in a dark alley, in a rainy town, watching two women, a blonde and a brunette, hiss at each other in Russian, angrily talking about what to do next.

All I knew is that they frightened me.

I had hardly been in the dream world long enough to discern what they were saying until I was woken up.

"SERA!" Allegra yelled. My eyes snapped open and saw that she was six inches from my face. I flinched, and she giggled.

"Oh – um, yeah?" I was startled awake, but wiping the sleep out of my eyes, I sat up. She had a quizzical expression on her face. "Why were you sleeping?" she asked.

I tried not to think about the beginnings of my dream, and tried to focus on my cousin. I got a better look at her face.

Sometimes I forgot just how gorgeous Allegra truly was. Closing in at about ten or eleven, she was already taller than my 4'11 height. Her dark copper ringlets fell a little ways past her shoulders since she liked to keep them reasonably short. Her startling green eyes were much like mine in the way that they always gave away what we were feeling – a fact that I sometimes hated. And whereas most people said I looked and moved like a ballerina dancer, most people commented on the fact that Allie's good looks and tall stature would land her a modeling job. I could see it.

"Just dozed off. Couldn't figure out what to wear." My eyebrows furrowed and a grimaced with distaste at the idea of getting ready and fashion. It was just fabric...right?

Allie giggled again. "Do you want me to help you?" she asked.

"Nah, I think I'm good," I told her, and trying to "prove" that I actually knew what I was doing, I quickly grabbed the first two things I saw.

She crossed her arms. "Sera?"

"Yeah?"

"Those don't match."

I blushed, caught in my lie. "Shut up," I grumbled.

Allegra's ringing laugh filled the small space. "It's okay, cousin. You wouldn't be the Sera we love if you didn't know how to dress yourself."

She entered the closet, scanned the racks, sniffed the fabrics a little, and then with a triumphant "hah!" she pulled out two articles of clothing that looked like they would match.

It was a white off-the-shoulder oversized t-shirt with a little decorative pocket on the left breast. It would hang well past my bottom. She also handed me a pair of black leggings, and to my extreme pleasure, my bright blue Chucks.

"Here you go. Do you know how to put it on correctly?" she asked ruefully.

I almost rolled my eyes. It was like talking to Embry sometimes! I swatted her butt. "Thanks for the help, now get out!" I said playfully, and she ran giggling out the room. I shook my head. She picked up more of Embry's sarcasm everyday.

After slipping on the outfit (and taking extra time to put on my Chucks, just because I loved them so much), I stood up and looked at myself in the mirror. I couldn't stiffle the groan that came out of my mouth at the ridiculous mess on the top of my head. I could dress like the queen, and my hair would _still_ have other ideas.

And then my mom walked in, smiling ear to ear. "I had to come see. Allie said she dressed you. I like the outfit, I might add," she said with a wink, which made her careful array of spiked hair practically vibrate.

"Thanks, Mom." I looked at myself back in the mirror. Ridiculous. Maybe a ponytail?

Mom sighed and came to stand next to me. We were now the same height. "I'll do your hair?" she offered.

I raised my eyebrow suspiciously. Every time she did something cosmetic or related to fashion for me, she found little ways to keep doing it. I know she loved it, so sometimes I indulged her, but my mind kept going back to when I was younger and she would torture me with three hour dress ups.

I almost shuddered. Maybe I needed therapy to get over it.

"Oh, c'mon!" she begged, her face taking on a pitiful expression.

I rolled my eyes. "Fine," I grumbled. It _would _look better if my mom did it...I just wasn't sure about tomorrow and what she would do then.

I still let her do it though. Thirty minutes and a hair full of rollers later, my hair was tumbling down my back in shiny and lustrious curls that actually looked decent. I got up and kissed her. "Thanks Mom. You're a lifesaver."

That she was, because the second I said that, Seth walked in through the door. "Sera, I'm here!" he bellowed from downstairs.

My heart skipped a beat or two. Like I wouldn't have known the exact moment he walked in through the door. I would have known what his footsteps sounded like in a crowded room, his heart beat in the middle of Times Square.

Mom smiled at me and kissed my cheek. "Have fun," she tod me knowingly. I blushed, and she giggled, pushing me out the door a little bit when I didn't move.

_Just Seth, just Seth._

I practically fell down the stairs I wanted to get there so fast. Blushing, I centered myself again, and walked into the living room.

* * *

><p><strong>Seth POV<strong>

"So, this party?" Jasper said nervously, eyeing me in a way that made me want to shrink. Maybe he was using his gift on me. I wouldn't be surprised. No dad is thrilled with his daughter going to a party with heavy-drinking.

"Yeah, I know the guy – " I started, but didn't finish. I felt my center tugging in a direction behind me. I smelled her lavendar and musk scent, heard her fluttering heart, felt the heat coming off of her. Sera.

I turned around with a grin on my face. I couldn't wait to tell her –

I stopped cold. My breath came in short little wisps, my heart stuttered in an unhealthy way.

Holy.

Shit.

_Wham. _It came out of nowhere, like a wrecking ball knocking me on the side of my head. It practically felt like Life was beating the shit out of me.

I almost beat the shit out of myself.

Had I been blind up until this point?

Seraphina was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen in my life.

Her raven-black hair fell in smooth curls down her back, although it still held that Sera untameability that I found surprisingly was very, very sexy. She was wearing a simple white oversized shirt that fell off the side of her slender pale shoulder. I could have stared at that exposed patch of skin forever, marvelling at how creamy and _perfect _it looked. She was wearing black leggings that clung to her skin and showed her curves in all the right places. And trust me, she had a _lot _of right curves. _God Clearwater, how could you have never noticed? _Shit. She wore no makeup, but angels don't need makeup if they're already flawless. Her eyelashes were a mile long, curving upwards, framing her amazing sapphire blue eyes better than any tube of mascara could. She could have hidden behind those eyelashes they were so long. The absolutely adorable way she peeked up at me through them, flaunting and taunting me with those amazing eyes I was in love with. _Her eyes. _No amount of words count describe how utterly perfect her eyes were. Dark blue with silver flecks in them. They resembled the night sky, even though no heaven on Earth could match her simple presence.

Although there was nothing _simple _about her presence. Not by a long shot.

The force of her just existing – her and now – almost felt like I was imprinting on her all over again.

My jaw was probably hanging to the floor.

How could I have never realized how in love with her I was?

Oh god, I was in love with Seraphina.

But I mean, _of course _I was. It was impossible not to fall in love with her. Now that I thought about it, it was seemed necessary to my survival to love her. It _was _necessary to my survival to love her. It seemed like common knowledge. She existed, therefore I did. How could I not love something so...perfect? Perfect and extraordianary and amazing and wonderful?

I loved her. So much.

It took me a good while to realize with horror that I realized this standing in front of Sera's father, a man that could read whatever I was feeling. I almost face-palmed myself.

Like a coward, I peeked over at Jasper, who was still standing beside me, still as stone. He had an unreadable expression on his face, although his was definitely staring at me. I could feel his golden eyes trained on my face, calculating me, almost as if the rubber band in my head was about to snap. Just the opposite. I felt like a new person, I would have done anything in that moment to give myself to Sera completely and rightly beg for her to give me a chance. I thanked everything that I had that Sera was my soul mate.

I felt so warm inside when I thought of the fact that this angel in front of me was my soul mate. What did I ever do in my life that was so extraordinary to get someone as amazing as Sera to give me half of her soul?

I could've sang.

I felt Jasper stiffen ever-so-slightly beside me.

At least he hadn't lunged, which meant he hadn't decided to kill me, which meant that he wasn't completely opposed to it. That was workable.

"Seth?" Sera said shyly with a slight flush playing at her cheeks. Her voice sounded like a choir of angels, ringing bells, sweet melodies. Perfect.

My mouth dropped again. She was truly stunning.

Sera quirked her eyebrow and moved closer to me. My heart started to race and my toes squidged a little bit. _God, this woman..._

Because Sera wasn't a girl anymore. She was a woman.

"Seth, are you not going answer me?" she asked lightly, her eyes sparkling with humor. I could've fallen to my knees.

"Oh, um. What was the question?" I asked dumbly, blushing a little bit, my heart racing a little faster.

Her mouth twitched, which made me, naturally, stare at her mouth. Her full lips, the perfect shell pink, what I wouldn't do to kiss them right now...

_Focus. _"You mentioned a party to my dad...?" she hinted, raising her eyebrow.

Dad. Standing here. Right. "Yeah, one of my buddies is having a party. It's the same buddy that threw a party the night before...before you were born." I realized that was a dumb mistake saying that little token of word vomit. I had _sex _the night before I imprinted on Sera.

I couldn't even remember that girl's face. Or her name. Or why I had sex with her in the first place.

I felt a little guilt pang at me. I should have _never _had sex. I should have saved myself so I could have given more to Sera. But I was an ignorant, immature teenager, and I was coerced my first time. My first time getting drunk, a girl I had never met before got me to have sex with her. I never saw her again, even though I swore I was in love with her. I gave up after about a month of trying to search for her.

I felt sick. I should never have done any of it. Sera should have owned every piece of me.

Since when did I think about _sex _with her now? Shoot me. Please.

"Are you okay, Seth?" Sera assked, crossing the space in between us and laying a hand on my arm. I felt electricity in her touch, shooting tingles down my arm. I peered down at her with an embarrassing blush on my face, realizing that she was watching me with a doe-eyed expression.

God, those eyes would be the death of me.

"I'm fine."

I've never said something so truthfully in my life. I had never been this okay ever before. As long as she was here, perfect, I would be perfect.

"That's good," she said, her fingertips lightly inching down my arm. She felt like satin, her touch was electric, her presence made me feel like I was imprinting over and over again. How could someone be so amazing –

"Ahem," Jasper said quietly, but it was enough to make us jerk apart almost three feet away from each other. I smiled sheepishly; Sera's face was highly furrowed and tomato red.

"It's fine for you to go, Seraphina. I trust that you'll take care of her, Seth?" Jasper asked, turning his golden stare at me. I felt a wave of fear wash over me. I knew it was Jasper, but it didn't make it any less potent. I gulped. "Y-Yes sir."

"I would like to talk to you, Seth," he said with a strained voice. I didn't want to move – I wanted to stare at Sera forever. But Sera gave me an encouraging expression with those big eyes of hers, and I knew that was all the strength I needed.

I was _so _in love with her.

Even though Jasper was probably going to chew me out. Literally. It probably wouldn't be above him to eat me.

Thank god I smelled like a wet dog to them.

"Outside," Jasper almost choked out. I gulped again, but followed him out at least semi-willingly.

"Emmett, Edward, come too," Jasper called at normal volume, and a second later, the two were standing in front of me, Edward smirking, Emmett with a devious grin on his face.

"Okay," I managed, even though I was practically trembling with fear right now. Edward nudged Jasper, and after seeing my face, he sighed, and lifted the emotion control from me. I still felt anxious though as an after effect. Maybe because I was actually scared.

Sera looked very confused, but Bella came downstairs and led her away, effectively keeping Sera out of the conversation.

We walked briskly until we got some ways into the forest, until the house was just a far away speck. Jasper got right down to business. "I know you're in love with my daughter," he spat.

I began to twist my fingers nervously. "I-I can't help it. She's hard not to love," I said quietly.

Jasper tugged at his hair. "She is _three! _This is the summer of her third year...god, why is this happening so fast?" he muttered, almost to himself, and Edward reached out to pat his shoulder.

"Happens to the best of us," Edward muttered, shaking his head in the general direction of Nessie and Jake's house. I knew that Edward fell off the deep end when it came to Nessie and Jake's relationship. Unlike my sitatuion, where Jasper was acting suspiciously calm compared to Edward, Edward made it no secret that he did not want them to be dating. It wasn't so much that he didn't want Jake to be dating her, it was the fact that she was dating at all. This was about the time, now thinking back, that Embry had started acting a little weirder around Nessie. Renesmee had boyfriends, and Jake chased away every single one. I had vivd memories of going on late-night runs with Jake to find his missing imprint, sometimes making out in a movie theater, other times making out at a party or on a wall or in a car. Edward had short-lived happiness when she finally found Jake, but short-lived being the key word when he realized they progressed more rapidly than anyone expected.

Especially not Edward. Edward expected it the least.

Edward pinched the bridge of his nose. "Don't remind me," he grumbled.

"Sorry," I muttered, still eyeing Jasper.

Jasper was clenching his teeth, staring deep into the forest. Emmett was quiet – too quiet, if you know what I mean. "He's not going to like hearing that," Edward said, shaking his head at Emmett. He shrugged.

"Hear what?" I asked.

Emmett shrugged again. "I was just thinking that I think Sera's mature enough to make desicions – "

Jasper's lip curled, and Emmett took a step back. "She's _three, _Em! No one seems to grasp that! She's got a wild side that I can see growing in her every day! The _minute _she's let loose, I'm afraid that she's going to do something to get in trouble – "

"I'd protect her," I mumbled.

Jasper growled, and I shrank back. "When have you _ever _been able to tell her what to do?" he hissed.

"She always listened to me, when no one could make her see sense..." I mumbled again, stepping back a couple of steps.

Jasper's teeth snapped together, and I flinched at the sound. "I know! _I know! _Agh, I hate this! I hate that she's growing up!" he said furiously, punching a nearby tree, making a clean hole straight through it. One more step back.

He rounded on me, and my eyes bulged. I could feel my emotions doing 360's, probably because Japser was highly agitated and wasn't controlling his gift. It made me feel a little woozy. "_You! _If my little girl gets hurt at by you, I will make sure you never live to see the light of day again!" he snapped.

My mouth actually dropped. Did he _actually think _I would _ever _hurt that girl? I would rather cut off my own limbs before I hurt her in any way. "How could you think that I would do anything to hurt her, Japser?" I whispered in shock. I couldn't...I couldn't even comprehend hurting her. I couldn't even envision it. There would be nothing I would do in my life that would not be in her best interest.

His nostrils flared. "Promise me!"

"I promise," I choked out, although I was almost insulted. Even _suggesting _I would hurt her...I just – I just couldn't even. That would be like suicide.

Jasper's eyebrows furrowed, and he glared down at his feet. His face danced in a curious way, about a million different emotions flitting across it at the same time.

But most of all, I saw Seraphina.

Surprisingly, I realized at that moment just how much Sera was like Jasper. Everyone thought Sera was Alice's mini-me, but the more I watched Jasper, the more I saw Sera. His deep furrow whenever he had a heavy emotion, just like Sera. His empathy for everything. Sera could look at one person and tell what their emotion was and had an uncanny ability of knowing how to help them. Sera might have visions, but they meant little, because her mannerisms, the way she spoke, her quiet joy for life...it was all there.

She was her father's daughter.

"Jasper, you have to believe me," I begged. His eyes turned up to look at me. They were a lot more gentle this time around. "I would never hurt her. Ever."

Jasper stared at me for a long time, such a long time that I began to figet. He just _had _to believe me.

Jasper let out a huff. Another Sera thing. "I believe you, Seth. But you must understand where I'm coming from. My daughter is three years old. She looks fifteen, and you're in love with her – "

"Yeah, but you have to admit that she's always been on the more mature side," I said, "She gets that from you, you know. She's like you."

"More like Alice," he murmured.

I shook my head. "No, not Alice. Sure, she has Alice's spunk and looks, but not much else. She takes after you."

He seemed a little shocked as he registered what I was saying. "You think so?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. I think if you wanted to get through her her, besides me, you'd be the one most likely to do it."

He nodded, trying to comprehend what I was saying, and looked away. Edward gave him a crooked smile. "Don't worry, I realized the same with Nessie. Unfortunately for her, she picked up on my temper. Bella has a quiet temper, Renesmee's is more likely to throw a chair through the wall than anything else." He laughed.

Jasper blanched.

"Do you believe me?" I pressed.

Jasper looked over to me. His eyes were a thousand miles away, and he looked very, very old. "I believe you, Seth," he said in a voice no louder than a whisper.

Before I had a chance to respond, he was backing away from me. "Keep her safe tonight. I need some time away. I'm going to retrieve Alice, but I'll be there to see that she leaves with you. Don't expect us back until morning." And with that statement, he flew away from us.

"Not even a punch in for the dog? Fuck!" Emmett cursed, pouting. Of _course _Emmett would be down for a fight. Edward and I shook our heads at him.

Edward turned to face me, sighing. "Sera will be wondering where you are and if you're dead yet," he told me. I didn't need no further explanation or encouragement. I sprinted back to the house.

I ran up the steps to the front porch, but like always, Sera was a few steps ahead of me, literally this time, and tackled me from the side. "Oof!" I said, feeling myself flying towards the floor.

We fell to the ground with a loud _thud, _and although I wasn't hurt, I layed there for a few seconds, mentally evaluating my body to feel if I was hurt.

Hurt and pain were far from my mind though.

Sera was on top of me. Like, _on top of me. _Oh my god.

Quick, think about your mother!

The effect was satisfactory. I kept my cool, but my body was still on fire from Sera's heat.

I looked down at her face. She was biting her lip, blushing furiously. She looked so beautiful it took my breath away. "I, uh, couldn't help it. I though Daddy was going to kill you. I got overexcited," she explained, blushing harder. I smiled, can't helping but running a fingertip across her overheated cheek. She looked up at me in surprise.

"It's okay," I told her, smiling.

Her full lips formed an O, her wide eyes trained on me. Would it be bad for me to start leaning in?...

Just as I couldn't help myself, Sera jumped off of me gracefully and landed onto her feet. This made _me _blush. "What time are we leaving?" she asked quickly, lending her hand out to help me up. _I get to touch her again! She's letting me touch her! _An over-jubuliant voice shouted in my head. The little Seth in me did a happy dance. Trying to keep the stupid grin off my face, I grabbed her hand, feeling the electricity shoot up my palm. I almost forgot to breathe, but shockingly Sera was stronger than I realized, and lifted up my practical dead-weight with one arm.

My mouth dropped a little bit. "Wow, you're strong," I said without thinking, and then blushed.

Sera's mouth quirked and then blushed. "I've been strong ever since I was born," she said quietly, looking away.

My hands were getting sweaty and I probably had a dopey smile on my face. She gulped. "Um...what time is the party?" she asked again, blushing harder.

_Glub, glub, glub – _was it healthy for my heart to be beating this hard? It was like I had never done this before. Talked to a girl, I meant. Not that anything before had mattered...but still. "Nine," I told her.

She peered into the window, into the house, looking at the clock on the wall. "It's eleven in the morning," she stated.

I panicked. What was I supposed to do until then? She'd probably want to get ready for the party or something. "Yeah...I just wanted to come by to tell you that this party was tonight. There's gonna be drinking and stuff, but you're with me...so you'll be fine. I know the guy, he's nice enough, but he used to be a frat boy in college, so he knows how to throw a party, and he lives out in the middle of no where too, so his parties can be as wild as he wants. And he doesn't worry about police or anything like that. I don't know if I told you, but I used to work as a construction worker for a little bit before you were born since I needed something to do, and he was on the job with me, so that's how I know him. And we can go in my yellow Camaro since I haven't driven it in awhile – "

"Seth."

"Yeah?" I gasped. My name sounded amazing coming from her lips.

"You talk a lot."

My jaw dropped and then I blushed deeply. Stupid nervous word vomit. "O-Oh yeah. Sorry." I awkwardly scratched the back of my neck. Now that I've made a fool out of myself too...

She smiled lightly. "It's okay."

She tugged my arm down and pecked my cheek. It seemed like a friendly gesture...but it set me on fire, sent my heart going at a speed that would challenge a race car driver, made my palms slick, and left me dazed in the best way possible. Blushing herself, she darted inside with a quick "see you tonight" over her shoulder.

I was left standing dumbfounded and dopey on the Cullens' front porch. I couldn't wait for tonight.

* * *

><p><strong>Sera POV<strong>

I was shocked at myself as I flitted up to my room. When had I become so bold?

And why was Seth acting so weird?

I mean, he acted like a dork, through and through. Tripping over words, talking too much, staring at me, blushing like an idiot –

No. It couldn't be.

_Don't get your hopes up Seraphina, he'll only see you as a friend, _my mind whispered to itself as I peered into the mirror. I sighed heavily. I got to wear my outfit for about thirty minutes today. I'd have to take it off for tonight.

_Tonight..._

The thought about going to my very first party left a ball of anticipation in my stomach. It also left me worried. I had never been around that many humans in such a condensed and tightly-packed area in my life. Sure, I had been to public places before, but they were never so crowded where I felt enclosed. Tonight would be a first.

No. I refused to let my thirst get the better of me. I was also part _human – _I could do this.

I looked out of my bedroom window and into the forest. I should probably go hunting.

Pulling my hair into a ponytail on the way downstairs, I was almost out the door when my father stepped in front of me with a grave expression. I cocked my eyebrow. "What the matter, Dad?"

"I'm nervous about tonight," he admitted, his expression going tight.

I sighed. "Dad, I'll be okay. Seth will be there."

Something flashed acrossed his face, and before I had time to decipher it, he composed himself and sighed. "Yes, I suppose he is. But remember – don't put your glass down, don't get in the car with someone drinking, don't go off with strangers – "

I chuckled. "Firstly, I know the rules of safe behavior. Secondly, for tips two and three, humans can't hurt me, Dad. If, for _any reason, _I drove off with someone who was drinking and we crashed, I would be uninjured, or I would simply think fast enough to take over the wheel and get us out safe. And strangers can't hurt me. I'm stronger than all of them put together."

"What about thirst – "

"That's where I'm headed off to now. I'm going to hunt before I get ready." Sheesh, Dad sure was overprotective. Of course, he would have let me go to the party anyways because he finds me hard to resist when I ask for something, but I suppose he was just being a dad. Dads are just naturally overprotective.

His face got all tight again. I sighed and wrapped my arms around his waist. "I'll be fine, Daddy."

He huffed, and then wrapped his arms around my shoulders, because I was so short. "I'm just worried."

I looked up at him and smiled. "I'll call you if I accidentally attack someone or Seth passes out drunk."

He growled. "Seth _better not – _"

I rolled my eyes. "Jeez, Dad. I was kidding. Seth wouldn't, not with me there."

He let out an aggravated sigh. "I know." He seemed a lot more angry with this fact than what should have been necessary. I almost asked him, but there was a burning in the back of my throat from going without blood for so long.

Dad lightly nudged me. "Go hunt," he said, "But Allie hasn't hunted in a while either; I heard her complaining earlier this morning to Embry."

"Yeah, take me," Allegra said, bustling into the room with her wild curls splayed everywhere. Embry followed closely behind. "Coming too," he added with a smirk. I had to roll my eyes. Embry just has that effect on people.

"C'mon gang, let's go," I said, stepping away from my Dad and opening the door. Embry snickered and followed suit with Allie closely behind him, watching his every move with adoring eyes.

Great. I knew that look from anywhere.

Poor Allie. She had a couple years to go before she realized how much the situation sucked.

It would only be a matter of time before she fell in love with Embry.

And he wouldn't probably fall back.

My heart reached out for my cousin.

Trying to settle for a calm faҫade even though my thoughts and emotions were far from it, Allie and I took off into the trees while Embry stripped down to phase.

This new lead gave Allie and I an advantage. Even though in their wolf forms they were faster than us, we still were fast runners.

I felt the warm air whip past me as I saw with perfect clarity the surrounding forestry and animals. I heard the soft _thuds _of Embry's paws gaining on us. I jumped up onto a high branch, jumping from perch to perch lithely instead of running. I flipped gracefully from one branch to another, and soon, I was far ahead of both Allie and Embry.

I stopped on an older tree perch and closed my eyes, giving myself over completely to my vampire side and the hunt. Although I was impaired as being that I was only half vampire, I could still hunt as effectively as any vampire could, since it was purely instinctual.

Normal thought left my mind, and my mind was replaced with that of a predator's.

I closed my eyes and listened closely to the forest. Some ways back I could hear Allegra's fluttering heart with Embry's heavy-beating one, mixed with his panting and normal animal sounds. Diverting my attention to the opposite end of the forest, I stretched my senses as far as they would go into the thick brush.

About three and a half miles away, I heard the sinous movement of muscles belonging to a mountain lion, stalking its prey. Its warm, wet heart made my mouth water. I didn't waste any time – I immediately began my pursuit.

Jumping gracefully from branch to brach, it seemed almost too easy for me to take this thing down. It had no idea that I was quickly closing in.

Far in the trees, I spotted it. It was watching a herd of deer, a mother and a baby. My chest contracted and I almost hissed. Stupid animal. Why would it take down a mother? The baby would be defenseless. And if it killed the baby...I know it's stupid, thinking of animals in human terms even though I was a predator myself, but I could only imagine the pain the mom would go through if that happened.

Yeah, I know, stupid. But it gave me the pep talk I needed.

I lunged.

The lion saw me coming in mid-leap and shrieked at me in warning. I jumped on top of its back, and it fought uselessly to get me off of him. I hugged its neck with all of my strength, and while it reared up its front, the new position was perfect for my new angle. Calculating carefully what I would do, I swung my legs out in front of the cat so I was standing in front of its reared front. The thing was several feet taller than me, but I crouched, knowing that it wouldn't stand a chance. As it brought its front legs down with its jaw snapping, I leaped up, knocking it backwards and sinking my teeth into it at the same time.

There wasn't much of a fight after that.

Its warm blood flowed hot and sweet into my mouth as I drank it down greedily and felt myself become more and more satiated. It shrieked a few more times, tried to fight a little harder, but soon, it felt limp in my arms.

I let the body fall to the floor and wiped my bloody face with disgust. I didn't hunt very often, so I needed to perfect my hunting skills a little better. We couldn't all be like Aunt Bella who came back without a single hair out of place.

My white shirt was trashed too. Not so much with the blood – only a few stains here and there – but the mountain lion's claws definitely had better luck with my shirt than anything else. It fell in tatters, exposing my torso fairly well.

I groaned. At least my precious Converse made it out okay.

I listened for Allie and Embry again. About a mile away, I heard Allegra's greedy sucking noises and Embry's chewing. Following the noise, I reached them in no time.

Allie was holding a large elk in her arms, which looked rather hilarious considering she was physically ten. Embry was tearing off slabs of meet with another drained one.

"Wow, two elk, Allegra?" I asked, jumping down off my tree branch, doing a graceful flat-spin, and then landing quietly on the balls of my feet right in front of Embry.

Embry snorted, which was his wolf's equivalent to a sarcastic comment. I ignored him. "What happened to your shirt?" Allie asked, letting her second carcass fall the the ground. With chagrin I realized that she had actually faired better than me.

"Got into a wrestling match with a mountain lion. It was fun," I told her, shrugging, looking down at myself again. I could feel the air seeping in through my back, signifying that there was probably a large hole on the back of my shirt. The holes on the front of my shirt had gotten worse. And there was more blood than I realized.

"You have blood all over your face too," Allie commented, watching Embry finish his meal.

I guess a shower was in order when I got home.

When Embry finished, we ran as a group back to the house. It started out just as a run back to the house, but then soon, Allie and I got competitive, and began racing each other. Embry was so full he couldn't keep up. Allie was really full too since she had two animals and I had one, so I got there first. On a normal day, I would have sworn that Allegra could have beaten me, because of how long her legs were compared to mine, and considering that her grandfather was the fastest vampire I had ever met and her father was the second fastest wolf in the pack, only behind Leah.

I did a weird celebratory dance when I got to the lawn first, and Allegra busted up at me. Grinning, and too wound up with energy from the hunt and having fresh blood in my veins, I leaped on top of the house and went to my room that way.

"Seraphina," my mother chastisized from downstairs, "Don't jump on the house. You'll break something."

Snickering, I went into the bathroom.

Yeah, I was a mess.

Discarding all of the ruined clothes and tossing them outside my door, I quickly jumped into the shower, letting the warm water spray over me.

I poured some soap onto a rag and began to wash myself, starting at my shoulders and working my way down. What should I wear tonight? I wanted to look good for Seth, even if he wouldn't notice me. Who knows, maybe he would –

I was washing my lower stomach, and I had brushed over my lady area. I blinked in surprise. That felt...good. Too good, in fact.

I looked down at myself. Was it supposed to feel like that?

As a test, I tried it again, and I couldn't help my eyes rolling back into my head. Oh...oh my god.

I bit down on my lip to keep a moan in. I shut my eyes tightly and leaned back against the wall, going a little faster. It seemed natural that I would visualize. Seth, shirtless, was a good place to start. Oh god, he had the most adorable smile, and the kindest eyes – what would his eyes look like if he were _turned on..._

I had no trouble picturing.

And his hands – his big, warm hands – what would they feel like running all over me? Tangled in my hair?

My breathing started to get faster and faster. I felt a fire starting to pool in my stomach...

Wait, what was I doing? I lived in a house full of _vampires. _If I didn't stop...I'd never be able to look at them in the face.

I immediately put down the rag, the scent of my arousal filling the shower. My legs were getting a little trembly.

Wow.

Trying to clear my head, I tried to think of anything else but Seth and rags, and began shampooing and conditioning my hair quickly. I was out just minutes after that.

I grabbed my robe and a towel, drying myself off and then wrapping my hair with the towel. I walked into my room and straight into my closet.

Crap. This was the hard part.

I had never actually _been _to a party before, so what did you wear? How dressed up or dressed down did you get?

I hissed at myself. I was completely useless.

"This is starting to become a habit," Nessie said, striding into my closet. I smiled.

"Thanks, Ness."

She smiled at me, sniffed the air once, and walked to a far corner of the huge closet where I had never even ventured before. Without even looking at them, she lifted three garment bags and put them onto my center ottoman.

"Close your eyes. I want to surprise you," she said, a grin in her voice. Smirking, I put my hands over my eyes.

After three zippers came undone and a bit of rustling, she said, "Okay, open your eyes."

Three dresses layed across the ottoman. One was black, one was red, and one was yellow.

"Eesh, yellow," I said, eyeing the color. I hated yellow. Nodding, Nessie grabbed that one and hung in back up on the rack. She held up the black one.

It was black lace with a plunging neckline and delicate straps on the shoulders. My mouth dropped and I blushed. I had never worn something so...daring before.

Nessie giggled. "Hopefully Seth's reaction will be something like that too," she commented.

I blushed harder. "Hopefully," I grumbled, even though I highly doubted it.

Setting the black one down, shee held up the blue one. I immediately didn't like it. It looked too much like a prom dress to me.

"No, the black one is the best," I said, although I could hardly believe the words coming out of my mouth. The thing looked closer to lingerie than anything.

She grinned. "I agree," she said, waggling her eyebrows. She began to look at my shoe collection, shoes I had never even given a second glance at in my life. She puller out a pair of silver pumps.

"These ones," she said, handing me them. They felt so foreign in my hands.

She was staring at me expectantly. Sighing, I slipped on the stupid shoes and walked around in them a little bit. Not too hard. I had enough vampire in me to not worry about falling over or not being able to walk in them.

She gave me an appraising look. "You know Sera, I think this is the first time I have ever seen you in heels."

I blushed. "I've walked in heels loads of times," I lied.

She put a hand on her hip. "Oh yeah? Name one time."

I came up short.

She pealed with laughter. "Yeah...never."

I stuck my tongue out at her in a childish way and snatched the dress out of her hands. I was about to kick her out so I could change when she handed me a set of clothes that really _did _make me blush.

It was a black lace push-up bra and matching panties.

When I just stared at it like it was about to explode, Nessie giggled again. "C'mon, Sera. Take them. They'll make you feel powerful."

I peeked up at her through my eyelashes shyly. "Do they?" I asked. This was the first I was hearing about this.

She nodded and placed them into my hand. "Trust me, they do. I wear power lingerie with Jake all the time – "

I fought the urge to gag. "Oh please, stop."

She grinned. "I'll be right outside the door," she promised, and strode out of the room. I shook my head. Maybe getting tips from her would be a _bad _idea.

Sliding off the robe, I quickly put on the bra and panties set. I blushed again when I saw myself in the mirror.

I didn't take off my shoes, so I was wearing a pair of five-inch stilettos with matching black lace bra and panties.

I almost started hyperventilating. But if this worked and Seth noticed me, I would be forever grateful.

I slipped on the dress and checked myself out in the mirror. Again with the hyperventilating.

"You can come in," I called weakly to Nessie.

She walked in saying something, I didn't know what, but she stopped mid-sentence, her jaw dropping. "Holy...I...holy shit, Sera. You're gonna be fighting the guys off with a stick, and not just Seth."

I grinned. "Does that mean you like it?"

"It means that I don't even want to guess what's going to happen tonight," she said, her long bronze curls falling into her face as she eyed me up and down.

I bit my lip to hide my grin, but didn't say anything. If she was right, I knew one thing. I couldn't wait for tonight.

* * *

><p><strong>Seth POV<strong>

I was pacing around my kitchen, trying to beg time to go faster. It was already slow as hell, seemingly stuck at 8:04. Jake and Embry were over, watching me talk out of my ass and becoming more and more agitated.

"I mean, she _kissed my cheek. _I don't know what that means. Does she want to be my girlfriend? Or does she see me as a friend? Oh god, I don't even know – maybe I should cancel tonight! No wait, I can't do that. But what if other guys try to hit on her? I mean, she's beautiful, but what if she like..._likes _one of those guys? And she decides that she wants to love him and forget all about me?" I looked desperately over to Jake and Embry, who were watching me pace around like a madman with wide-eyed stares.

They exchanged a glance. "Bro, I think you need to calm yourself – " Embry started, but it was too late. I started again.

"No, no, she couldn't forget all about me. I imprinted on her – yes, that would be impossible. The stories say so. So she just couldn't. _And _she's my soul mate. But she doesn't know it yet! Oh god, this could go so wrong! And what if she drinks? Jake, how do hybrids react to alcohol?" I demanded, close to tears.

Jake stood up and approached me slowly like I was about to spontaneously combust. "They react to alcohol normally, just like everyone does – "

"What if she drives while she's drunk?" I squeaked, running my hands through my hair. I was going to pass out.

Jake grabbed my shoulder and steered me to the sofa. "One, she doesn't know how to drive so she won't be driving. Two, hybrids could drink twice as much as a linebacker can and still not be half as drunk as him. It would take a lot of alcohol for her to put away to get drunk, and you don't even know if she's going to be drinking tonight anyways. Three, it would be impossible for her to forget you, with all of the vampire-retaining-information abilities and the fact that you have been all she's known since the day she came out of the womb. Trust me, I would know," Jake said, smiling. Darn it. I tried to smile back, but it came out as a grimace.

Jake sighed. "You made a little bit of a mess of yourself. Go up and change before you have to leave," he suggested.

"A mess? What did I do?" I squeaked, looking down at myself. No, my clothes seemed fine.

Embry sighed too. "Chill. Out. You're all red and flushed like you just ran a marathon, and you messed up your hair from running your goddamn hand through it so many times."

"Crap," I muttered, darting upstairs. I heard Jake sigh behind me. What was with all the sighing?

Embry was right. My hair was sticking in every direction, and my face was red, and my forehead was damp with sweat.

Trying to will myself to calm down, I pulled my face down to the sink and splashed my face with icy water. It helped a lot. I also fixed my hair back to normal.

When I walked downstairs, Embry and Jake were setting out three shot glasses and a bottle of tequila. I cocked my eyebrow curiously. "What's this?" I asked.

"Your overdue tranquilizer," Embry muttered, pouring some alcohol into the shot glass. Jake chuckled but then stiffled his laughter when he saw my face.

Embry handed me the drink. "Please – feel free to take some more," Embry said as I downed the shot in one gulp.

The alcohol burned its way down my throat and I automatically felt the calming effects. Better.

Jacob watched Embry pour us all a shot and me a second glass with worry. "Dude, if you get too drunk to drive, just call me up."

I shook my head. "Nah, I would never chance that with Sera," I said, shrugging. Embry rolled his eyes.

"So what you're saying is that you're going to _choose _to be an uptight prude the whole tight."

I frowned. "I'm not a prude. I've had sex before." Unfortunately. Never thought I'd be saying that, but yeah. I regretted having sex before Sera. If I had only imprinted sooner...

"Kid, I saw your game earlier with Sera. Good luck." He mimicked my jaw-dropping and stumbling over my feet, screaming, "Sera! Wait, my love!"

...I couldn't really deny it.

I shook my head and lifted my drink in a toast. "To making my game better," I said, rolling my eyes at Embry. He grinned.

The three of us downed the shots at the same time. I made a face when I felt the liquid singe its way down my throat for the second time. "The last time I got drunk, I skinny-dipped in the ocean, woke up half-naked in the same bed as Collin, and then puked in the shower. Never again." I shuddered. Leah actually _did _have to replace my sheets after Collin puked on my old bed.

Jacob grinned. "Fun night," he said.

I chuckled. "I remember punching Brady for some reason. And then Embry – "

I looked over at Embry and stopped. He hadn't said anything. Jake's bachelor party wasn't the epitome of happiness in Embry's life.

"Dude, I'm sorry – " I began, but he cut me off.

"It's cool," he said, shrugging, "I have Allie now. Everything makes sense again."

I glanced over at Jacob, who seemed suddenly concerned with whatever was on the refridgerator. I mentally cursed my big mouth. I began thinking of subject changers, and then Sera, like always, popped into my mind. "What do you think Sera's gonna wear?" I wondered out loud.

"She'll look gorgeous," Jake promised, patting me on the back. I smiled and looked down. Yeah, she had a way of doing that.

Embry snorted. "You look like a pansy the way you blush and look down at your feet."

"I didn't know you paid so much attention to what I do Embry. Take a picture, it lasts longer," I shot back. Jake and Embry's jaw dropped. _My _jaw almost dropped the second I said it. It sounded so foreign, saying something snarky.

Must be the tequila.

Jake whistled. "Dang, down boy," he said, shaking his head at me.

Embry chortled. "Sethy's growing some balls."

I frowned. "Hey, I have balls," I complained.

Embry rolled his eyes. "_Aaaaaand _he's back."

I didn't care though – I looked at the clock, and it was 9:07. I pocketed my keys and my ID and some money, hoping that I would commit them to being there for the whole night. Jake and Embry screamed, "GO FETCH SETHY!" on the way out the door.

I snorted with laughter, climbing into my baby – my yellow Camaro. "Fuck you guys, I'm going to have a blast," I said, peeling out of the driveway. And I meant it.

* * *

><p><em>Calm down, Seth, just Sera, just Sera...<em>

I tapped my foot nervously in the living room, repeating that chant like a mantra in my head. It wasn't working.

I shifted uncomfortabley under Jasper's gaze. Well, it was more like a glare than anything, really. He sat still as stone with his hands resting unmoving on either knee, staring at me unwaveringly. I didn't think he was affecting my mood...maybe.

"We're almost ready," I heard Nessie call from upstairs. I took a deep breath. This was it.

I was more than glad to retreat from Jasper. He said he trusted me...but I was beginning to doubt him.

Nessie was wearing an evil grin, smiling at me like I was about to get hit by a train and I didn't know it. I immediately distrusted it.

But little did I know how correct that statement would be.

"Rose, you almost ready?" she called upstairs.

"Yes," she said smoothly, emerging about ten seconds later, gliding down the stairs in Rosalie fashion.

"Come on out, Sera," Nessie said, grinning even wider.

Sera came into sight. _Oh my fucking god – _

BAM.

The train hit.

_... _My thoughts were a little something like that.

Sera...holy crap.

I didn't care that her father was ten feet away and gaping at Sera like his sanity was being ripped out and stepped on. I didn't care that Nessie and Rosalie were snickering at my face, or the fact that I was blatantly and openly staring at her...but holy shit. Just...holy shit.

I was pretty sure I was drooling.

She was wearing the sexiest dress I had ever seen in my life. It was black lace with a plunging neckline – _holy crap, her boobs looked amazing _– cut short and tight to show off her amazing body and superior legs. I knew that if she turned around...oh god. Her ass would be just as superior, I just _knew _it.

_Fuck me, _I moaned in my head.

Sera was biting her full, pouty lip – _oh my god _– and trying not to giggle. I could see that Rosalie had done her hair and makeup. Her hair fell in perfect waves that reminded me of the ocean that reflected every light in the room, I swear to you. She had on eye make-up too, something she never did. It was like a smoky-eye thing that made the blue stand out in her eyes and made me want to take a _very _cold shower.

Thank god Jasper wasn't a mind-reader.

He still had the second worst option for a father though. He could read everything I was feeling, which was almost as bad as him reading my mind. And right now, he was glaring at me with a mixture of anger and resentment.

_You're welcome, _Nessie said, pressing her palm to my arm. I turned and gave her a wide-eyed stare. I wasn't sure if I should be _thanking _her or not.

By the look on Jasper's face, I knew I was in trouble.

"Hey," Sera said rather confidently, and Jasper looked like he was ready to blow a gasket.

My tongue hadn't found its way back into my mouth again. I couldn't form words.

Sera looked like every single fantasy I had hoped to ever conjure in my brain, only a million times better. I didn't even know someone this sexy could even _exist..._

Sera batted her impossibly long eyelashes at me. "Are we going?" she asked innocently. I gulped.

"Yeah," I tried to say, but it came out sounding like I was a chipmunk on helium.

If the ground had swallowed me whole then, at least I would have died with this sight in my head.

Sera giggled and went to hug her dad. He looked close to a stroke if he could have had one, but he hugged her back. "Here, have my phone just in case," he said, handing her his new, shiny black phone. She smiled and took it. "Thanks, Dad."

She strode away from him, tucking the phone into her bra, swaying her hips side to side as she walked to the door. I gulped and Jasper growled at me.

I booked it to the car after that.

The summer air was nice, but I could have gone for a wind icy cold to slap me out of my stupor.

"You look gorgeous," I breathed, away from the angry eyes of Jasper and the snickers of Nessie and Rose. It was a little stuffy in there. I pulled at the collar of my plaid shirt, feeling overheated.

She turned and gave me a million-watt smile, stunning me momentarily. "Thanks. You look nice too," she commented, even giving me the up-and-down.

_For fuck's sake, I was going to be in soooo much trouble._

As it turns out, driving with your hot imprint in a dress that barely covers is harder than it looks.

Jake and Jared and Sam and Paul must have lots of practice, because I found it very hard to keep my eyes on the road when I had something much more tempting to stare at.

The road, or Sera. Which one would you have chosen?

We drove in silence, a smile playing on those temptingly full lips of hers the entire time, drawing absentminded circles on the creamy, exposed skin of her legs, which was distracting in more ways than one.

I was happy that we hadn't gotten into a wreck by the time we got there.

True to John's form, his house was bursting at the seams with people. Cars were parked everywhere, so I had to drive some ways into the dirt to find a suitable parking spot.

I jumped out of the car after parking and ran around to the passenger side, opening the door for her and offering my hand to her.

"Thank you," she said evenly, putting her soft hand into my large one and pulling herself up. Her heat brushed up against me deliciously, and I had to fight the urge to pin her again the side of the car and kiss the crap out of her.

"No problem," I said gruffly, shutting the door behind her and locking the car. People acted dumb when they got wasted, so I actually made sure it was locked twice.

There was a group of three guys standing outside, talking and laughing loudly. I placed my hand on the small of Sera's back in a possessive way. These guys were up to no good.

One guy caught sight of Sera and nudged his friend. The other friend also looked, his jaw dropping. Sera didn't seem to notice, but I sure did.

_Mine. _My statue and demeanor and warning glare told them that they shouldn't even try anything. One of them backed up ever so slightly. _Damn right, she's mine._

We walked into the house, and the place was beyond crowded, bursting with energy. The bass coming off the speakers vibrated inside my chest, pulsing through the walls and floorboards. A large group of people were grinding on each other in the middle of the floor. The lights were turned off, but blacklights and neon lights were lit all around the room, causing everyone's skin to pulse in a strange way. There was a fog machine running too, although it wasn't overwhelming. Hundreds of unused cups were piled in the corner with the _four_ bartenders, who were handing out drinks right and left on a makeshift table.

Yep. This was John's party.

I looked down at Sera to make sure she was okay. She had a bright grin on her face, taking in everything. She was so beautiful.

She looked up at me and I bent down so I could hear her better. "Do you want a drink?" she asked.

"Oh honey, I can do that – " I started.

She shook her head. "No, it's okay. Is a beer fine?" she asked. I nodded, already spying a mostly free couch. I'd wait there until she got back.

* * *

><p><strong>Sera POV<strong>

"Hey beautiful, what can I get you?" said one of the guys pouring drinks at the table. I smiled and leaned in across the table. I heart his heart race a little faster.

"Two beers," I said into his ear. Nodding, he pulled two ice cold beers out of the cooler beside him and handed them to me.

"Thanks," I said, flashing him a smile.

Nessie was a genius. Not only was she correct about me getting Seth's attention, but the whole power bra thing was working wonders. I felt so much more confident – testimony to my newfound flirting skills.

I was a little bit worried about my dad though. He looked like he was angry when he saw me. He also looked angry at Seth too.

Oh well, I wasn't here to think about my dad. Or think about much of anything, really. I wanted to have a good time, with people who weren't necessarily my family or the pack.

I turned around, trying to find Seth. I figured it wouldn't be hard – just search for the tallest head. But he was no where to be found.

Even with five-inch heels on, I was still short. And there was no way I was going to be able to see around this sea of people.

I was near the edge of the massive crowd but angling towards the middle, the perfect spot for guys trying to pick up on girls. A drunkard staggered up to me, almost spilling his drink and blowing his alcoholic breath across my face. "Hey baby, you're the hottest thing in this place," he said, trying to push me against the wall. I rolled my eyes.

"No thank you," I said politely, deftly ducking underneath him to get away. My movement must have been too fast for his drunken state, or he was just an idiot, because while spinning around to try to get ahold of me, he must have gotten dizzy, and promptly fell onto the floor. I scuttled away.

How hard was it to find a huge Native American man? There wasn't anyone here near Seth's stature. A couple guys came close, but the most definitely were not Seth.

While on my search, one guy came up to me and started grinding from behind me, while waving at his friends to look. While his attention was diverted, I pulled away easily from his grasp and ignored his friends' catcalls from behind me.

I had made it to the other side of the room in one piece, although a few more catcalls sounded the air from the guy that tried to grind on me. I shook my head.

There, found him. He was sitting on the couch, talking to some girl that seemed to be relatively sober. She was _obviously _flirting, which made me mad, because Seth, true to his nature, didn't notice. I almost walked in between them.

I was striding confidently over to Seth, earning a few more glances, until I saw the one thing that made me stop cold.

She leaned in, her eyes glinting like a hungry tiger's, and she kissed Seth.

She kissed him.

She _kissed him._

It was lik a wave of blackness, a wave of red, a wave of _sadness _came crashing down on me mercilessly.

My world went spiralling downhill at that point.

I stepped back, not believing what I was seeing. Seth...oh no. Oh no oh no oh nononononononono...

And then I saw, straight out of a horror film, his mouth beginning to move with hers.

Gripping onto whatever sanity I had left, I speedwalked to the nearest bathroom. I _had _to get away form him. He...no.

Seth disgusted me.

He kissed her back! He _kissed her! _I shut the door tightly behind me, ensuring I wouldn't be disturbed. I fell to the ground at that point, clutching my ribs, trying to hold what was left of my heart.

It was in tatters.

Tears fell freely from my face, and I was too much into my own suffocating vortex, too gone into the bleak world that layed ahead to even care.

Every tear was like a razor blade cutting down my face. Every breath I took felt like a gunshot wound to my chest. And my heart – if you could even call it that anymore – was the worst part.

I couldn't even describe it. But I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

I crawled feebily to the toilet and gagged in a desperate way to somehow get rid of the contaminents in my body. Maybe I could puke my brains out and not have to remember the past five minutes of my life.

For the millionth time in my life, my body betrayed me, yet again. Nothing could ever be simple for me. I couldn't even puke when I wanted to, because my stomach would never allow it. It was too strong.

That was one strong thing about me at this moment.

I couldn't think of anything else to add to that list.

And the worst part was that girl, that hungry temptress that seduced Seth – she was probably better than me.

No, I was sure of it. She had almond shaped eyes and perfect blonde hair, with perfect make up and a supermodel build that had legs up to _there. _Of course I couldn't compare. There was nothing _to _compare.

She was perfect in every way, and I was a freak among freaks _among freaks. _I was supernatural. I was half-vampire, and an adopted one at that. I saw things I didn't want to see and there wasn't an aspect of my life that wasn't handed mercilessly over to that _fucking _supernatural world.

It felt good, cussing. I had never even thought a bad word in my life. Until now.

Who fucking cared anymore?

I snatched desperately at the can of beer. Not even bothering with the beer tab at the top, I stabbed a hole on the top with my thumb and drank it down in three long gulps.

More. I needed more.

I did the same for the second can.

I grimaced in disgust. I didn't feel a single change. I could still remember every agonizing detail of that encounter. I could still see the way his lips moved with hers, the way her eyes glinted like the hungry monster she was.

I dug my nails deep into my arm, sobbing, trying to get a grip. I was being suffocated.

My nails broke the surface of my skin, sinking deeper and deeper. I cried out in pain, but I didn't stop. The pain erased memories of what I saw just a little bit. A little bit was good. It was better than nothing. _This _pain distracted me from the pain of heartbreak.

I would take this pain any day.

I only stopped when the palm of my hand was cupped full of blood, splattering onto the floor. To stop me making more of a mess than the one I already made of myself, I ran to the sink and dumped the handful of blood into it.

Red and black was all I saw. Red from my blood, and the blackness of everything else.

I pulled my nails from my skin where it already started coagulating and closing up. It probably wouldn't even leave a scar.

I looked at myself for the first time in the mirror. My eyes, usually sparkling with life, were dead as the thing barely beating inside my chest.

I was nothing.

A wave of empty blackness fell over me, and I almost sank to the floor again, dry-heaving.

No.

I needed alcohol.

Wiping my eyes and stumbling out of the bathroom at the same time, I found the guy I was looking for – the guy who was pouring the liquor.

"Hey, babe – "

"I need the strongest shit you got," I demanded.

His eyes were raised to his hairline. "Y-You sure, sweets? Body of your size can't hold a lot – "

"Oh, I can hold plenty, trust me," I said bluntly. The tone of my voice said he shouldn't mess with me now.

Quickly, he ducked underneath the table and pulled up a full bottle of Grey Goose. Perfect. I grabbed a ten out of my bra and shoved it in his hand. "Thanks," I said, already twisting the cap and sucking straight off the bottle.

I took two long gulps, feeling the delicious burn seep down to my stomach, warming my cold, empty body. It didn't last long, but it was something.

But like always, it left that hollow feeling chasing straight after it.

Fire and ice, fire and ice. You know, just like the poem?

Except I was positive that ice was the more destructive one. I was sure of it.

Another swing.

_Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice..._

Well, my fire was gone.

I stumbled into the kitchen, already halfway done with my bottle. Just a couple more swings –

"At the rate you're going, you're going to be blacked out by the end of the night."

He finished my thought. I idely turned my head in the voice of the direction, not really caring. It was a guy I had already catalogued in my search for Se – that disgusting excuse for a man – because of how tall and muscular he was.

He was tall and pale with thick dark hair and pale green eyes, the kind of eyes that with one look, you instantly wanted to know more. He was wearing all black with a black leather jacket, and he simply oozed the kind of person Se – _guy I despise _– would immediately not like.

That made this stranger that much sweeter.

"Jesse," he said, extending his hand. I shook it, still not caring enough to return my name.

Another swing. More fire.

"What's your name?" he asked. When I didn't answer him, he gently pulled the bottle away from my hands. I could have stopped him, but somehow, I just didn't want to. I didn't want to fight for anything. My hands fell uselessly to my sides.

I almost said Sera, but that brought about a fresh new wave of blackness. That mutt gave me that name. "Seraphina," I whispered, eyeing the tequila on the counter. Would it be beyond me to take a swing from that thing too?

"Seraphina," he said thoughtfully, taking his own swing off the vodka bottle. When he saw me staring at it enviously, he chuckled and handed it back. "Nice name," he said, still staring at me.

Still didn't care. Another long chug.

"It's a bit of a mouthful though," he said, sliding closer, his voice dropping lower and huskier, "You seem complex. Maybe you can dumb it down."

"What did you have in mind?"

A long, slow smile spread across his face. "We can go find out," he suggested.

I looked up into his pale, green eyes. I wasn't stupid. I knew what guys like him wanted, and it probably wouldn't end well. I saw that same hungry glint in his eyes – the same glint I saw previously before on that girl, moving in towards Seth.

Heartlessly, I boldly slid my hand around his neck, and pulled him down closer to me. "I'd like that," I whispered.

I'd like that a lot.

I felt his hands wrap around my waist and him roughly bring my body closer to him. I felt his lips crash down onto mine.

Some part of my brain registered that this was my first kiss, but I was so beyond caring.

My mind shut down, and I finally found the escape I was looking for. My body acted on its own accord, pressing myself completely against him, giving myself over to him completely. This stranger named Jesse.

His hands roughly grabbed at my butt, grinding me against his hard-on. I thought about pulling back, but as I began doing so, normal thought came back into my mind. I began remembeing faces –

I pushed Jesse roughly against the wall, pinning him there, kissing him frantically. He responded only too eagerly, flipping positions so that _I _was pinned, his hand grabbing at my breast, slipping inside my bra quickly.

I moaned. This was good. No thinking involved.

He sucked on my neck, kissing his way down to the valley between my breasts. He was licking, sucking, biting – and I only too freely allowed it. "Nia," he said matter-of-factedly, lifting me off the ground so I was being carried, pinned to the wall. I smiled. I liked the sound of Nia. But if it meant him not stopping, I would have been his ex-girlfriend for all I cared. "Okay, I'm Nia," I groaned, feeling my hands tangle in his hair.

"Fuck, you're hot," he moaned, nipping my ear.

"So are you," I whispered back. I actually didn't know if Jesse was hot or not. I didn't see his face, It just sounded like the proper thing to say. What you _should _say.

I was a machine. I had died already.

He smiled and stopped kissing me, setting me down on my feet. I felt my face slip into a frown, only waiting for the images to come back. "Wanna go somewhere, Nia?" he inquired, kissing a line on my jaw. I felt nothing.

"Sure," I said, only trying to keep my teeth away from his jugular.

Grabbing my hand, he quickly led me through the party, moving across a lot quicker than I could have. We were outside in no time.

His car was a black SUV in one of the back rows. He pressed me against it and kissed me again roughly. Too bad I didn't care.

He unlocked his door and ushered me inside. I plopped onto my back, leaving myself totally exposed.

Did he see that I was bleeding? A torn-up, mangled mess? Of course not. He saw a piece of flesh laying down in the backseat of his car.

Jesse went straight for my breast, but this time, he began pulling down my dress at the same time. I was left in nothing but my bra and panties, and those fuck-me heels.

He stared down at my body. "Wow," he said, appreciateing the view. I fought the urge to claw his face for some reason, but instead, I smiled. "Do what you want."

Do what you want, Jesse. Make me a machine. Make me forget.

He unclasped my bra, revealing my exposed breasts. On any other day, I would have been embarrassed, but at this point, I could have walked through Times Square naked and still not have given two fucks.

His mouth went immediately to my breast and began sucking and biting again. I tipped my head back and moaned at the sensation. "Yeah," I groaned.

His finger hooked my panties and pulled them down. That should have been the first indicator to stop. No, actually, when he started removing my dress, that should have been the first indicator. But instead, my body tightened in anticipation.

"I want you," Jesse whispered against my mouth, grinidng against me with his hard-on. I shrugged nonchalantly.

"Take me then," I said, but more as a dare. I was taunting him.

He smiled again, his eyes full of lust and greed. He reached for something in the front seat – a condom. "You're not a virgin, right?"

Who cared anyways. "I am."

His eyebrows raised. "Really?"

I was getting sick of his talking. Dangerous thinking was coming back. "Yep. Just do it, Jesse."

Slowly, he began taking off his clothes, revealing what _would _have been a nice body on another day, but to me, he was nothing more than flesh and bones. "You sure?"

I growled in annoyance. I couldn't help it. Feverently, Jesse began attacking my lips again. "That was hot," he said. I felt his hand move down his dick, sliding on the condom.

I waited. He angled his penis at my entrance, looking into my eyes. "You positive?" he asked.

"Yessssss," I hissed.

With a sadistic smile of sorts, he plunged into me.

Well...it hurt.

I bit down on my lip, trying to not scream out in pain. But still...I welcomed it. It was better than the alternative.

He began moving.

Now, you wonder why I had been such a good girl my whole life, in love with that dog, and then on one night, in one random meeting with a boy I had barely known ten minutes, I lose my virginity. You want an answer.

I had none. It didn't matter to me anymore. Nothing felt sacred to me.

Everything was too black.

He began plunging in faster and faster, pinning my hands above my head, his eyes rolling back into his head. I began to scream out in pleasure, for the fire – sweet, lovely fire – that was building in my stomach. It was warming me. It was making me into something discernable. Something recognizable.

The fire burned.

But it was gone too qucikly.

"Oh – oh god, Jesse, _yes _– " I screamed, feeling the fire turn into an explosion.

Waves of it hit me, one by one, as I screamed out and hissed and groaned and growled. He hit his explosion himself, pounding into me.

And then it was over, and I was left with nothing.

Oh well. It was to be expected, I guess.

He plopped down beside me, breathing heavily. "Fuck, Nia. You are...that was..."

"Take me home," I said suddenly, sitting up. I felt sick.

He seemed unphased. "'Kay," he said, pulling his pants on. I slipped on my dress without that goddamn "power lingerie" or whatever.

Jesse watched me as I climbed into the front seat. "That was awesome," he said offhandedly, igniting the ignition. I wouldn't use "awesome" to describe it. More like "it would do."

We drove home in silence. I didn't care much for that meaningless chatter. Jesse was nothing to me. "Where to?" he asked finally, getting off at the exit I told him to go off of.

I had a small guilt that going home would do no good. With eight vampires in the house, they would smell Jesse and my arousal and know what I'd done. I made a spur of the moment decision. "Go right here," I told him, turning into the long driveway belonging to Jake and Nessie.

He finally pulled up to their modest house. "This it?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said, already climbing out of the car. His hand on my shoulder stopped me, and I had to fight the disgust off my face.

"Nia, let's hang out. There's something...endearing about you. There's something there that intrigues me."

You're wrong, Jesse. There's nothing in me.

"Oh yeah?" I said flirtatiously, although I borderline hated this kid.

He smiled greedily. "We can...hang out."

So he wanted to use me for sex. Surprisingly, that made me hate him less. Good thing we were on equal terms. I wanted nothing more than to feel that warmth again in my used up, useless body. I didn't care if I meant next to nothing to him – he meant even less to me. "Okay," I found myself saying.

He grinned. "Great. Tomorrow?" he asked.

"Yeah. I'll see you at noon tomorrow. Don't come down this driveway; park in the woods down the way," I instructed. I figured he could figure it out.

"Good," he said, leaning across to kiss me. I kissed him back, sending my thoughts running away, which was exactly what I wanted, and exactly why I was agreeing to this monstrosity.

Pulling back, I hopped out of the car. I stood there, not quite feeling anything, watching him drive away. My one chance for survival.

And then the train wreck hit, sending me plummeting to the ground.

Better than nothing at all.

* * *

><p><em>AN: This is ridiculously long and overly-lemony and dramatic and...blah._

_Don't hate me for making Sera – aka Nia now – miserable._

_If you've ever been heartbroken, you know it feels something along those lines._

_I covered a lot of info in one chapter. Yeah, she had a borderline vision. Don't forget it. They're both in love, Ser'a heartbroken, and Sera loses her virginity. To a stranger, of all people._

_Sorry if you guys wanted it to be Seth. I had planned this out in my head for awhile though, and Jesse had always been there as that one guy to cause hell._

_Okay, I'm going to stop now. This chapter is going onto 15,000 words. O.O_

_Review. Subscribe._

_Be happier than Seraphina._

_-Chels._


	16. In Fear and Faith

_A/N: Yeah...so. I'm shitty. I know. I leave you with that kind of chapter and then go MIA for almost a month. But I had so many things happen to me last month. Busy is an understatement._

_I will stop giving you anecdotes about my life and get to the story now, ahahaha._

**Chapter Song: **In Fear and Faith, by Circa Survive.

"_I don't know why they call it heartbreak. It feels like every other part of my body is broken too."_

_~Unknown_

* * *

><p><strong>Jasper POV<strong>

"Come to bed, honey."

I sighed deeply and layed my head against the window glass. "I think I'll stay here until Sera gets home."

To say I was worried would be an understatement. I just _had _to watch for her. Sera was everything, equally as important as Alice was. Another deeply rooted secret...I just wanted to make sure the dog kept his hands off of her. Throughout thinking about this, I thought Alice had turned to leave, so I was surprised when I felt her slender arms wrap around my waist. "I think when she gets home, you should give her and Seth some privacy," she warned, propping her chin on my shoulder.

I felt a growl escape my mouth. "Seth won't touch her," I promised harshly. Maybe a little too harshly.

"Jasper."

I sighed and unwrapped her pale arms from around me, and turned to face her. "Alice, please – "

"No, Jazz. We're not doing this. Come to bed."

She looked so stern with her pixie face that it was comical. I smiled a little ruefully. "We don't sleep," I returned.

I went back and forth with Alice like this regularly nowadays, especially when it came to Sera. Sera and Seth. I thought she granted Seth too much freedom with her, but she thought I was too narrow-minded. But how _else _was I supposed to feel about this?

She made a _tsk. _"We do when you're stalking the windows for our daughter."

Alice rolled her golden eyes at me, causing me to laugh. "Come on sweetie, I can't help if I'm overprotective," I reminded her. She would probably know if I tried to work my gift on her...

She sighed, and reached up to touch my face. I forgot all about that notion and closed my eyes against the feel of her silky skin. "I know, honey. I know. But it does no good if we watch for her. Seth will take care of her."

Again, I growled. I opened my eyes to her confused face. "Why does Seth keep coming up?" I asked in an almost whiny way.

"Because Seth is one of the hugest parts of Sera's life. He'll keep her safe."

"Yeah, and his tongue down her throat," I bit.

She slapped my arm in reproach. My lip instantly jutted on habit. "Firstly, we don't know if they've even kissed. Secondly, if they have, we've known for her entire life that it'd end up that way – "

I growled. _Grrrrrrr, stupid Seth..._

"_Thirdly,_" she said, giving me a stern look, "I still hold true to my word, when I said I would rather it be Seth than anyone else."

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "He's _in love with her, _Alice!" She wasn't grasping my horror!

She raised her eyebrow. "So?"

I gaped at her. She couldn't be serious! Sera was little over three years old. I couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that they would be kissing and doing...other stuff together. "What if they move out?"

She rolled her eyes and grabbed my hand. I stared at it, not really comprehending. Alice still retained her collective calm. "Jazz, if they move out, then that's their choice. But they're not going to be gone forever. They'll probably visit us regularly, like Renesmee and Jacob."

"_Probably."_

"Jasper, stop. You're getting ahead of yourself. Let's go to bed, and she can tell us about her night in the morning." The tone my wife was using said that this was settled and I better not dispute her. Clearly given no option, I let her tow me unwillingly from the bay window, thinking about how I would react if I saw Seth and Sera together, while trying to keep the harsh edge from my thoughts.

* * *

><p>I was sitting on the bed, watching some television show I had no interest for as Alice took a shower. My mind constantly strayed back to worry for my daughter.<p>

I checked the time again from my pocketwatch. 11:30. I wanted to call her, ask her if she was all right, but she probably wouldn't hear over the loud music. And she would be busy doing other things.

_Other_ things. I tried not to think about what she would be doing at a party. In my mind, the only thing I could think of was her and Seth in some filthy corner, making out. Her dancing with Seth in that revealing black lace dress that made me want to light myself on fire to get away from the horror of it. I could only see Seth's face in my mind when he saw her in that dress. His _emotions. _I shuddered involuntarily.

I heard a whisper of wind from someone flying up the stairs and down the hall. I turned myself to look at whoever would walk in. Sure enough, Bella walked in with a pained expression, carrying a cell phone. "It's Jacob," she said as a way of greeting, and handed me her sleek phone. I stared at it, not putting it to my ear. There, blaring on the front of the screen, said 'Jake.'

"Is everything okay?" I asked Bella.

She didn't respond, and instead bit her lip.

I had known Bella long enough that she only did that when she was very worried. My battle training and vampire reflexes caused me to become very still. "Bella, what happened? Why is Jacob calling me?"

"It's about Sera," she whispered.

I unfroze instantly, feeling fear wash over everything else. The phone almost splintered from putting it to my ear so fast. "Talk, now," I growled into the phone.

"Sera's here," Jacob said simply. I heard rustling in the background.

"Why is Sera at your house?" I asked, confused, but worried. Worried. Oh no.

"Um...that's the thing. She's here. But she's crying. She refuses to tell anyone anything. Nessie's in the room with her now, but – Seth. He's here too, but out in the woods. She refuses to talk to him."

"_What happened?" _I snarled, already pulling on my shoes. I was envisioning Seth's head on a silver platter. It didn't matter what happened. Alice was wrong, Seth didn't protect her.

Seth didn't protect her. Besides finding out what happened to her, that was all I cared about. He had finally slipped up, and he was going to pay.

"Wait a second!" I heard Alice trill from the bathroom doorway, and I stopped in mid-step. She was wearing a robe and her hair was dripping wet and plastered to her face, "You're not going anywhere."

"Alice - !"

"Jasper Whitlock, if you know what's good for you, you better sit down," she growled. I groaned and sat down slowly, feeling a little betrayed. She turned her eyes to Bella, who was trying to deftly sneak out of the room unnoticed. "You're not going anywhere either. Sit."

Bella walked a wide arc around Alice and sat down next to me. Jacob was still on the phone. "Put him on speaker," Alice instructed.

I complied begrudgingly. "Jacob, you're on speaker, and Bella and Alice are here," I said, still glancing looks at the little pixie.

Jacob huffed. "Okay, well, like I was saying. Sera's here. Another thing too. She refuses to go home right now. Now, I'm not saying that Nessie and I were trying to kick her out or anything, but that was one of the few and only things she's said so far."

"We have to go over there," I said immediately. It was like second nature. I would go to wherever she was and take a course of action. That was part of my military training. If something was wrong, you faced it head-on. You came up with a practical plan and tried not to get yourself killed.

"Jazz, do you think that's a good idea?"

I sighed and looked heavily at my wife. Of all the times Alice and I would disagree, now was not the most optimal time. "Alice, I love you, but I think – "

"Did you hear Jacob? She's not speaking to anyone, even Ness. What makes you think she'll say anything to us? Whatever it is, whatever happened, we have to give her space."

She couldn't be serious. "So do nothing." It was harsh, but that's what the equivalent in my mind was.

Alice narrowed her eyes at me. "No, _give her space._ She will tell us eventually." She put her hand on her hip, daring me to argue.

I wanted to throw something! Why was Alice against every piece of advice and route of action I was proposing? We almost always agreed with each other. But nowadays, Sera was the biggest and most glaring dispute. Freedom, or keep her on a short leash? But all I could think about was the fact that my daughter was sitting in her cousin's house, crying and refusing to speak to anyone. I could be soothing her with my gift. I could be holding her. But no. Alice was against it, and I knew better than to dispute Alice because – and although I might never have admitted it in the moment – Alice was always right.

"She's welcome here as long as she wants," Jacob promised.

I sighed. Alice was already far away, moving back and forth, searching her visions. "Thank you Jacob, you're doing us a great favor. Try to get her to talk, and then ask her if she would like to see us." It pained me to say that, but I had to trust Alice and let it be. For now.

"I will."

I hung up the phone after that, feeling more worried than I ever have been. Alice was still pacing. "I don't understand why she's crying. And Seth? She _always _talks to Seth. This isn't good." My wife was talking more to herself than she was anyone else.

"Maybe she saw something? You know, in her visions?" Bella suggested, trying to look small and inconspicuous. I could feel the unease coming off of her.

Alice and I exchanged looks. I hadn't thought about it, but the more I did, the more it seemed plausible. And the more terrifying. What could she have seen that would have made her break down? Sera was neither fearful nor a coward. If it had been something concerning her family, she would have came straight home to tell us. Unless...

Unless it had nothing to do with us at all. Unless it was about Seth.

What could have Seth _done?_

I was soon trying to find reasons not to go hunting for Seth. Not that I would have any issue. Seth's stench seemed to be everywhere I turned.

I tried not to jump to any conclusions, but I decided that I really didn't care.

"If that's the case, then I'd be the best person to talk to her," Alice said.

I nodded. "I agree. Which is why I think we should go over there." Not to mention I wanted to interrogate that dog.

Alice was shaking her head before I even finished my sentence. "If it had to do with visions, then Sera _will _tell me. We have to trust that. But for now, we have to give her space."

I growled. "Let me find Seth."

Alice narrowed her eyes at me again. "That's not a good idea either."

"Alice, _why not? _I can't just _sit here!_" I felt like a four-year-old throwing a tantrum, but I couldn't contain it. This was injust. Alice was being completely uncompromising.

"Because I can see the anger in your eyes. And it's not like I can see you with Seth around. I can't stop you from doing anything stupid."

I scoffed. "I don't do stupid things."

"When it comes to Sera, you just might."

I knew in my heart of hearts she was right. But Alice was always right. I just hated when she was always right about _this. _

I still needed to go talk to him though.

"Alice, I promise I won't do anything I might regret. I just need to talk to him," I pleaded.

Alice sighed and leaned heavily against the wall. "Jasper, I'm not sure. I just feel so...useless, you know? Especially when it comes to Sera. Her and I don't necessarily see eye to eye...actually, very rarely do we. I just never know how to help her, because her and I are so different that it makes me almost do the opposite of everything I _want _to do. I'm a little jealous of Seth, honestly. He knows her better than she probably knows herself. And if there's anyone that could get through to her, it's him, without a doubt. I want to talk to him too...but like I said, I just do the opposite, because it's _Sera._"

I had never heard Alice admit that she was jealous of Seth before, and it took me a little by surprise.

I realized Bella had snuck out of the room, and was talking quickly to Emmett and Edward downstairs. I took my wife's hand. "Please let me go talk to him," I pleaded.

I stared at me for a long moment, biting her lip in worry. I bent down and kissed her gently, trying to soothe her. "I promise I'll behave," I said, kissing her again.

She sighed and leaned against me. "Well...okay."

I felt my mouth curve upwards. "Thank you, darling," I said.

Alice grabbed my chin roughly and yanked me down, kissing me with as much passion as she could muster in all of three seconds. "Please think of me if you get too angry," she pleaded silently.

I pulled back and gently touched my lips to each of her eyelids. "I promise."

With another passionate kiss and a promise to be home before dawn, I slipped out of the house and made my way to Nessie and Jake's.

* * *

><p><strong>Nessie POV<strong>

I don't think I had ever seen something so heart-wrenching in my life.

Sera sobbing harshly into my collarbone, gripping my forearm with her tight grip. Her clothes, her hair, her face, her _psyche – _all soiled.

She was broken.

The most startling characteristic that I noticed was her expressive eyes. Always so full of life, now they were dead things, poor excuses of any signs that she was still breathing.

"Embry," I heard Jake greet lowly as he opened the front door to let his best friend in. I heard a whine of protest and pain from Seth outside, and Sera sobbed harder into my chest. I held her tighter, kissing her soaking wet cheekbone.

Jake said something too low for my ears in the other room, but I heard Allie tramp down the stairs with a little less pep in her step than usual.

"Oh god, I'm driving you all away," Sera moaned brokenly. I was surprised, because Sera had only said a few things to me since she came here.

"Shhh, honey, no. You're fine here. Allie is just going to spend the night with Embry. She was planning on spending the night there anyway," I lied smoothly. In actuality, Jacob wanted to send Allegra to the pack house after he realized that it would probably be a long night.

I felt Sera's shoulders sag and she leaned even heavier into me. Jake started to pace outside the door to the room I was in.

Another sobbing solvusion wracked through her body, even harder this time. My heart broke over and over again for her. What could have happened? What could have _possibly _happened?

Jake's pocket rang, and he qucikly walked onto the porch outside. I took this time to try and get some life out of my beloved cousin.

"Sweetie, let's get you out of these clothes," I told her, sitting up and pulling her weak body up with me. She still clung onto me, almost as if I had never moved.

I almost thought she hadn't heard me, until a few moments later, when she nodded weakly against my chest. I sighed and kissed her forehead. "All right, I'm going to take off your dress."

I slid off the dirty lace dress, and was extremely shocked to find she wasn't wearing any underwear. I opened my mouth to inquire, but closed it shut, knowing I wouldn't get anything.

But whatever happened must have been bad.

My mind automatically jumped to the worst possible conclusion. She got drunk. So drunk in fact that her mental capacities were worn. A guy overpowered her...a guy took advantage of her. I bit the inside of my cheek to stop the harsh growl from escaping.

I tried to make my voice as sweet and nurturing as possible, even though I could feel the more vampiric side of me sneaking up on me, and fast. "Let's get you to the shower," I said.

I grabbed her hand and led her to the bathroom. She hid her face with her other hand, almost as if she was hiding inside herself. She was closing in, and I knew she wasn't going to be all right, by any means.

"I'm going to let go of your hand for a few moments, is that all right?" I asked her. She nodded slowly, still hiding her face.

I made the process as quick as possible, turning of the spray and watching the water come from the top and the sides of the shower. I put it on fairly hot. "All right hon, all ready," I told her.

Her arm had dropped from her face, so I could clearly see her. She was all hunched up inside of herself. In some weird way, she looked skinnier, swallowed up. Her face had mascara carelessly running down it, but that was trivial. Her eyes were the most horrifying sight about her.

If I were to live a thousand years, I might never forget that sight.

"The water's on," I said, lightly tugging on her arm and directing her into the shower. She stood under the spray, unsure of what to do with herself.

"Take as much time as you need," I promised her.

She nodded weakly and pulled the curtain around her, effectively cutting off her from me.

I immediately got down to business.

I put a fresh set of pajamas and a towel for her outside the bathroom door. I picked up the tattered dress and walked outside with it.

I pressed the fabric to my face, smelling deeply and almost wincing. It smelled like booze and sweat and hundreds of distinct human odors.

There was one that was stronger than the rest. Not by much, probably considering that she was around lots of people the whole night, but this one was fresher, stronger. It was indistinct in itself, nothing special, but it still stuck out to me.

Odd.

I tried to sniff around the room, getting a smell for something else, something for distinct. I made my way to the bed, and sniffed where she had been sitting.

The same scent, except much stronger.

It had saturated the bed, settling deep. It was there, and very prominent.

I pulled back and gasped, but muffled in quickly with my hand. I didn't waste any time. I quickly walked out to my husband, who had quit pacing and was sitting in the living room, leaning his head heavily on his hand, staring out the window at Seth, who was pacing madly through the trees.

"Jake, come here for a second," I said in a low voice.

Jake tilted his head up at me in surprise. "Baby, are you okay?" he asked worriedly, standing up and putting his hands on my shoulders. I leaned tiredly into his touch and nodded.

"Yeah, I just found something," I said in an even lower voice, motioning for him to follow me. Know he would, he immediately did so. I held up my finger to him to tell him to be quiet, and he nodded as well.

I grabbed the dress and handed it to him. "Smell it," I said.

He took one whiff and held it back form his face in disgust. "It smells like a party," he commented.

"No, smell it closer. There's one smell that's stronger than the rest."

Biting back his distaste, he investigated it closer. His eyes widened a little bit when he realized what I was saying. "What – "

"Smell the bed," I whispered even quieter, my eyes filling with tears.

He dropped onto one knee and pressed his nose to the bed. "Holy shit," he breathed.

I grabbed his arm and towed him out of the room immediately. "Jake, the smell was on _her, _not the dress," I said.

His mouth dropped. "No. No way – "

"Jake! It's _on _her! That smell! I know she's been drinking. What if she got weak, and somehow, some _guy..._oh no." The tears fell down my cheeks.

"Honey, we have to tell Seth," he whispered in shock, eyeing his friend weaving through the brush.

I shook my head. "We don't know what happened. All I know is that there's a strong scent on her, and it shouldn't be there. I also know is that she's crying, so I know something bad _did _happen. I don't even know, Jacob. I just don't know." I was shocked and horrified. I hoped with everything that I had in me that what I was thinking wasn't the case.

"Seth needs to know this," he told me.

"We can't jump to conclusions, Jacob! This is concerning..._rape. _What happens if Seth freaks out and kills the guy, but we're wrong? I don't want that on my conscience for the rest of eternity," I pleaded.

Jake sighed and shut his eyes, tightening his grip steadily onto me. "You're right," he admitted.

"And you know Seth will jump to conclusions," I said.

"And he won't hesitate. Even if he's Seth, it's still his imprint. Every imprinted wolf would act the same," he concluded.

I nodded in agreement. "We have to wait," I told him.

I realized we wouldn't be waiting for long, because Jasper's sleek motorcycle came speeding down the driveway with a purpose.

* * *

><p><strong>Jasper POV<strong>

I spotted Seth right away.

He was pacing back and forth through the trees. I could feel the extreme anxiety, the fear, the confusion, the worry. A little guilt.

It took everything I had not to jump off the motorcycle and rip him to shreds.

I took a deep, steady breath, and remembered what Alice had told me: _Please think of me if you get too angry. _I thought about her wonderful, shining face, willing myself to relax.

I parked the bike and slid off it smoothly. Seth had disappeared into the woods, but I could hear him getting dressed. Good. I would need to talk to him in person.

Nessie came outside with a face of worry. She smelled strongly of Sera. "Uncle Jasper," she greeted formally.

"Ness, where's Sera?" I asked, cutting right to the chase.

"Inside, taking a shower." She cast her eyes down, and I could feel the uncertainty from both her and Jake. They looked at each other knowingly.

"Are you lying to me?" I asked, trying to keep the anxiety out of my voice.

Nessie looked up. Shock. "No, I wouldn't lie to you about where she is, Jasper. You know that." I could tell she was being truthful, but I was still worried.

I decided to let it go to get to the truth of the matter. "How is she?" I had to ask.

Nessie swallowed hard, and I could feel the heartbreak. "She's not very good. She's crying, a lot."

Nessie bit her lip and looked down at her feet again. Jake came over and put a comforting arm around her shoulder.

Seth same through the trees then.

Seth looked like he had aged 10 years. He was walking cautiously toward Nessie with a dumbfounded expression. "Crying?" he choked.

And then he made a beeline for the house.

"Seth, no!" Jacob called sprinting after him. Nessie and I followed closely behind.

"Where is she?" he demanded, sweeping the living room. His emotions would have made me nauseous if I was human. It was like he was hitting me with a sledgehammer made of anxiety.

"Seth, please stop!" Nessie cried out, grabbing onto his forearm and tugging him out of the house. Seth's hands were shaking.

"Seth!" I yelled, standing in front of him and pushing him back. With vampire strength pushing and pulling him back, he was no match. He barely looked at me though.

He was staring above my head.

Turning my gaze ever-so-slightly, I looked over to see what he was staring at.

It was my daughter.

The shower was still running, but she must have heard the commotion. A soft pink robe was wrapped around her, but she was still dripping wet. Her hair was plastered to her face and was already drying in a frizz ball. On another day, it would have been quite amusing.

But Sera's emotions were like a dark, black hole. I was astounded that whatever she was feeling was being felt to that degree. I could almost feel the knife of pain inside of her.

"Sera," I whispered, forgetting Seth all together.

"It's Nia now," she announced, cold and hard as ice.

I raised my eyebrow and looked up at Seth. His mouth had dropped, and he was staring at her with tears in his eyes. Whatever Sera was feeling was killing him too.

"Darling, let's go get you cleaned up," I said, walking towards her. I don't even think she noticed me. She was still staring at Seth.

I could feel the love, hatred, and betrayal.

So, it _was _Seth.

"Seth, get out of here," I growled at him.

"No." He made a move closer to Sera.

"I'm warning you," I snarled, dropping into my protective crouch.

"Sera, what did I _do?_" Seth pleaded.

Sera's emotions bombarded me at that moment, stronger than anything I had ever felt from _anyone. _It was clawing, merciless, undiluted heartbreak.

My poor, _poor _baby.

I would dismember Seth into nothing. I would burn his body and no one would ever know what happened.

"Sera," he whispered brokenly.

Suddenly, Sera snarled, long and vicious. I was so shocked I took an involuntary step away from her. She had completely transformed from a brokenhearted girl into an angel of rage.

It was terrifying.

"Leave, Seth!" she screamed.

She didn't say any more, although I could feel all of the emotion she had felt this night in those two simple words. She strode from the room and into the bathroom, turning her back on the imprint.

The broken sobs coming from the bathroom were horrendous.

Seth stood there. From the outside, it looked like he had been frozen, but I knew better. His insides were crumbling down. His imprint had told him to leave her. I knew from the experience I was feeling at that moment that that kind of castaway was one of the worst feelings a wolf would ever feel. I almost felt pity for him. "I-I have to go," Seth said shakily. He didn't wait for anyone to protest. He didn't wait for the go-ahead. He jumped off the porch, and exploded into a sandy wolf in mid-air.

The last I saw of him was his tail and his heartbreak, disappearing into the trees.

* * *

><p><em>AN: I know I didn't do Seth's POV. I think I'm going to give him his chance later. But right now, it's all about Sera. Please don't hate me. (:_

_-Chels, xoxo._


	17. In the Forest

**A/N: This is the quite short chapter, hosting Seth's small POV. Right now, he's running through the trees. I'm telling you this because of how short his POV is for **_**right now. **_**;) But anways...**

* * *

><p><strong>Seth POV<strong>

_What am I..._

_I am nothing._

_Seraphina..._

_Unworthy of her._

_I am terrible._

_Nothing..._


	18. Too Young

_A/N: Um, okay. I need to just stop making excuses. I had an indefinite writer's block. I had no idea where I wanted to take this story from my last chapter, and it was extremely frustrating. But I read the wonderful reviews by you guys on my story, and I saw how much you guys wanted me to continue, so I found my muse and just went for it. ;)_

_Can I just say now that I am on SUMMER VACATION, I have a ton of time now, so you can expect more updating. :D_

_Love, Chels._

**Warning: This chapter has drug usage references. Please pay attention to the rating- M.**

**Chapter Song: **_Cherry Blossoms, _by The Hollow Crowes.

* * *

><p><strong>Sera (Nia) POV<strong>

Another day.

I got up out of bed, stretching my limbs.

I looked in the mirror.

What I saw appalled me. Only a week after everything, and my skin looked sallow. I had dark circles under my eyes. My hair was considerably more frizzy than normal.

My eyes were blank.

I shrugged.

I got up out of bed to find that Nessie, Allie, and Jake had all left without telling me. I guess they finally got the memo since every time they pleaded for me to go back to the main house and visit everyone, I shook my head and remained mute. There was only so much three people could take, and I was making them miserable.

I hated that fact. They didn't deserve it at all.

I hadn't eaten at all since that day a week ago, but I couldn't bring myself to feel very hungry. I knew that I was thirsty, and that was something that was never going to change despite my mood, but I couldn't find the energy to go hunt.

Or do anything.

I was supposed to hang out with Jesse today though.

Since he took my lip virginity _and _my actual virginity a week ago, we had only had sex one other time. I knew that if I kept subjecting myself to having sex with him, I would feel worse and worse. I already felt the change after the second time. When he had pulled out of me, I felt incredibly sick, but knew that my half-vampire stomach would never betray me like that. And to be honest, he didn't look like he cared too much about what I felt.

Jesse had figured out my schedule by now. He came around noon, when everyone was sure to be gone. And like clockwork, 12:05, there was a knock at the door. I ran at a human speed to open it.

Jesse was leaned against the wall of the house with his arms crossed at his chest. His scent was making me thirsty. Crap. "Hey babe," he commented, taking in my obvious lack of preperation for the day with contempt eye. I didn't say anything.

"You gonna get dressed, or...?" Jesse trailed off, walking past me into the house. I sighed.

"Just woke up, sorry." I wasn't really that sorry.

"I got time," he said offhandedly.

My lips made a tight line. I couldn't necessarily say I liked the kid. I watched him move around the room like a snake, his eyes darting to everything, sizing it all up like it borderlined on valuable and dangerous. I made a quick memo of every grabbable thing in the room so I would know if it went missing later.

I went into my room and shut the door behind me. I had recently acquired some seblance of clothing taste since last week. It's funny what stays with you even when you don't actually have someone to impress anymore.

Jesse didn't really count to me. There was only one person I was ever interested in impressing, and he was too busy kissing other women.

I brushed my hair until it was somewhat smoothed down. I used some powder to cover the dark circles under my eyes and threw on a light mascara. I picked out a collared shirt with a denim collar and white flowing material for the rest of the shirt. I picked a pair of skinny jeans and my signature Chucks.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't shake my obsession with these shoes.

But when I walked out of my room, he looked at my shoes with disdain. "Your shoes are muddy."

My jaw locked. "My shoes are classic and wonderful," I defended.

He sighed and continued to check out the contents of the living room. "You gonna keep snooping?" I said a little acidicly.

"Whatever Nia. You ready?" he snapped.

I shot him a look and marched back into my room to grab my purse. Not that I caried anything too valuable. Just a key to this house and the main house.

I walked back outside to find that he was already out the door. I rolled my eyes and followed in his footsteps, and locked the door on the way out.

He had his SUV that I lost my viginity in parked outside in all of its glory. Although I was somewhat regretting losing my virginity to the asshole, the SUV held some meaning in its own way. Not that I really wanted to remember the night in general.

Not that I _ever _want to even _think _about that night again.

I opened the passenger door to see him shaking his head. "Sit in the back please."

My jaw dropped. "_Excuse me?_" Depressed or not, I was raised to tolerate no bullshit.

"We're picking up Duke today." He said this like it was the most obvious thing in the world and I was an idiot for even bringing this issue up with him. I ground my teeth.

"Who the fuck is _Duke?_" I growled. I imagined this Duke guy being slashed to pieces by my claws. I knew I was being unfair since I had never met the kid, but Jesse already made me not like him.

"Well, aren't we a little firecracker," he said with a smirk. Speaking of claws, my fingers formed one when I saw his coky little face. "Duke is my best friend. He's also getting me some weed. He doesn't know you, but since he's giving some to me so he gets front."

I flared my nostrils but said nothing. That was the most unconvincing, unintelligent, half-baked reasoning I'd ever heard in my life. Instead, I did what I normally didn't do.

_I did as told._

I got into that back seat with the most dignity I could muster in my situation, and fought to control my temper.

He didn't even have the decency to apologize or justify the situation.

Asshole.

And so we rode (with me in the _backseat_) down the highway to Boise. I knew that if I so choosed, I could rip him to shreds. I could take his blood. I had the _power _to change my situation, but I was too pathetic to do anything about it.

It's a funny thing realizing you're at rock bottom. When you realize that you're sitting in the _backseat _of an SUV because you were told by an asshole that that's where you belong, and you don't even have the energy to rectify the situation. Maybe I was taking the backseat thing too seriously, but I still fought the urge to rip his throat out.

Depressed or not, I would have to hunt soon. My thirst was making my already prominent temper issue even worse.

But there was one problem that I refused to tell anyone, because I wasn't telling anyone anything. And it would also bring more attention to me, which I definitely didn't want.

My dreams.

Of course, they always come into play. Always.

My dreams. They were getting even more shadowy and mysterious, and for me, that was a rarity. Clarity _defined _my visions.

I kept dreaming of two figures. Vampire, as far as I could tell, and women. Something about a doctor too, appearing sometimes and other times, not. The figures were shadowy. They were playing with my visions. And they were getting closer.

As far as I could tell, they weren't threatening my family at all. They were only focused on me. To be quite honest, they scared me half to death. My visions were never this dark and jumbled, but here I was.

Maybe it was because my life was muddy now?

That couldn't be it.

I had been through rough patches in my life but never had they affected the clarity of my visions.

I was stupid. I knew I was stupid. I was just too selfish, wallowing in my self pity, over my best friend that I was desperately in love with kisssing another girl a week ago.

I should tell someone. The only problem being that I hadn't been around any family (including Nessie, Jake, and Allegra) and there hadn't been an opportunity to say anything.

I wanted to keep mulling this over, but someone I suspected as Duke was walking along the road towards the car. Jesse pulled over.

"Hey man," he called, putting the car in park and unlocking the doors.

Duke jumped in and looked genuinely suprised that Jesse had a guest. "Hey," Duke said, extending a hand. I bit back my pride and shook his hand. Duke, if that was even his real name, had Native American features. His hair was cut short, not in a buzz cut, but just enough to be styled I guess, if he wanted to. My first impression was that he looked a lot like the guys back in La Push.

I was hit with an overwhelming sense of nostalgia then. I would give anything to be in La Push right now.

"Duke, this is Nia," Jesse said, starting the car.

"Nia," Duke said, "Interesting name."

"It's a nickname," I informed him. I tried not to think of my _other_ nickname.

He raised an eyebrow, expecting a full answer. I sighed. "Seraphina. That's my full name."

"An even more interesting name," he commented appreciatively.

I shrugged. "I have a cousin named Renesmee."

He looked shocked that Renesmee was even a name that was formulated by a functioning brain. "Guess it runs in the family then. You must be an interesting person to have a name like that," he said, winking.

I gave him a small smile in return. "I like to think I am." _More than you know, _I addded in my head.

"Well, I'm sure your cousin isn't as pretty as you are."

Jesse leaned over and slapped his head. "Hey, she's _mine._"

I bit back the growl in my throat. I wasn't a piece of _property. _The only person that ever said that I was his was...

Um.

_Him._

I winced. His face in my head that I had been trying to keep out this whole time was like taking a bullet.

"Hey, you okay?" Duke asked, turning back around and seeing my face.

I looked at him with shock. Maybe it was crazy to think that Jesse actually knew someone with the common curteosy to ask a person if they were feeling all right.

"Um, yeah. I'm okay. Just...stubbed my toe," I lied. I heard that hurts for humans.

Duke said, "Oohh, bummer, that hurts like a bitch," and turned back around when Jesse distracted him with some talk about cannabis, or "weed" I guess, and when he was gonna get it. Still, I stared at the back of Duke's head, wondering how he could be friends with Jesse.

Soon, the drive turned into something unfamiliar. "Jesse, where are we going?" I asked, breaking into the conversation, maybe a little rudely. Sorry I wasn't sorry.

"To pick up my sister," Duke said. "And her friend."

"Oh? What's your sister's name?" I asked curiously.

"Demi. And her friend's name is Tony."

"Is she your younger sister or older?"

"Twin sister. Younger by eight minutes."

"Yeah, and Tony is the guy she _fucks,_" Jesse taunted, a smirk on his face. Duke punched Jesse hard in the arm. After the way he treated me, I had to admit I got a little pleasure from seeing him wince.

"_Anyways,_" I said, feeling more talkative that I had felt all week, "I have to ask. Is Duke your real name?"

Duke turned around to look at me and smiled warmly. I almost teared up with the injustice of it all. I suddenly wished Duke was the one to find me at that party. "Nope. Duke is just a nickname. It's really Demitrius, which is literally the dumbest name I have ever heard. My sister's name is Demitria. My parents thought they were being clever by naming us names that sounded so similar. They're fucking _idiots,_" he said for good measure. He looked away for a moment, shook his head, and grinned. "Whatever."

"When did you get the nickname?'

He thought about it and shrugged. "I can't really remember. I think just one day I told everyone to call me Duke, and it stuck."

Jesse laughed. "You're sure talkative today, Nia."

"I'm talkative around interesting people," I returned smoothly.

Jesse pouted and Duke laughed. "She stuck you one, bro."

Jesse smirked his signature smirk. "It's more like I stick _her _one."

My jaw dropped for the second time today, second time today due to the fuckery that just came out of Jesse's mouth.

..._Excuse me._

I felt myself blow a gasket. I couldn't help it.

I was literally apalled that someone could even say that, much less while the person was in the car.

I let go of some of my control. I snarled.

Duke flipped his head around and looked at me in surprise. "Are you...growling, Nia?"

I stopped suddenly, feeling a sense of shock. I sent a heated glare at Jesse before I flipped my head away. "Habit I do when I'm angry."

I said it nonchalantly with just the right amount of anger, but I was freaking out inside. How could I be so _stupid!_

_Stupid, stupid girl, Seraphina!_

Jesse was eyeballing me from the mirror. I met his shocked gaze steadily, not a hint of wavering. "Never speak to me like that again."

Seven words. Seven calm words. But my voice was so unwavering that I heard him gulp. Duke looked over to Jesse.

"You're such an ass," Duke commented.

I almost kissed him right then and there.

But knowing my luck, that would just cause problems.

Without any talking after that, Jesse pulled up to a house on the corner of a suburban neighborhood that smelled strongly like cannabis. I wiggled my nose. As soon as he had parked, I unbuckled and jumped out.

Duke walked ahead of me, and I allowed him to lead me up the path to his house. Jesse followed closely behind me. I'd like to say that he was effectively put into his place due to his lack of eye contact with me.

Duke let himself into the house and called out, "Demi, I'm here."

My first impression of the place was that it looked like the stereotypical bachelor pad from all the movies. Leather couch, very little interior decoration, a big plasma screen TV with all of the video game consoles, and an empty box of pizza sitting on the coffee table. The place reeked of weed and booze and sex.

We all waited patiently at the foot of the stairs. A minute later, a pretty native girl came walking down. She was only an inch or two taller than me, whereas Duke was approaching six feet. She had silky black hair that I was instantly jealous of and feather duster eyelashes. She was towing a boy with light brown hair and boyish looks. Jesse was the only one who looked like the bad boy out of the group, surprisingly.

"Oh, I don't think I've met you before," Demi said, approaching me. "I'm Demi." She seemed genuine enough.

I smiled, trying to look upbeat. "Nia."

"Seraphina," Duke said, winking. I smiled for real that time.

That was weird. Smiling.

For some reason, I had the urge to practice psychometry on Demi, but I decided to leave it be. I didn't need to bring more attention to myself after the growling incident. Jesse was still quiet, trying to look at everything_ but_ me.

"This is Tony," she said, looking at Tony with eyes full of adoration which instantly made me sad. He didn't seem to notice her. I could relate. Tony smiled and shook my hand briskly.

"Who's up for a smoke?" Duke said, pulling out a bag of cannabis. It instantly gave off that signature odor which I knew would be in my lungs all day. I figured this was for the best, because I couldn't help but noticing how delicious Duke smelled right now.

Everyone looked at the bag appreciatively. It was quite a large bag, I guess in drug terms, and everyone started pulling out some cash for their share. I almost did the same until I felt Duke's hand on mine. I looked up, an he was smiling at me. "For a new friend, no charge."

_God bless, I hope all your dreams come true, amen._

Even though it was drugs we were talking about, I still appreciated the kindness he was showing me. Jesse gave me the physical release, but he didn't actually care about me. Duke was...nice. I needed nice.

_You had nice, _my inner conciousness tortured me, _you had Seth. But he had that girl._

I shut down, going still to absorb the impact. I was too young to be hurting this much.

My life would be hell until I talked to Seth, I knew it. I wanted to believe I had just imagined the whole thing. That he had somehow been overpowered and he had been forced into the kiss.

But I saw him kiss her back.

And for a moment...I thought we had _had _something.

Like we would have ended up together.

Now I was just a mess.

Duke tapped me on the shoulder, distracting me from my pain. "Hey Nia...you coming?" he said unsurely.

I nodded a little too frantically. "Yeah."

We all loaded up in the car, but this time it wasn't as demeaning to be put in the backseat now that there were two more members. Tony asked once we all got buckled in, "Did anyone bother to invite Carol?"

Duke and Demi scoffed. "Carol is a bitch," Demi said.

"Couldn't have said it better, sis," Duke agreed, and high-fived Demi.

Tony laughed. "Ouch. Whatever. She's a fun time."

"When she's _drunk,_" Demi reminded him. Tony shrugged.

Jesse laughed and turned on the stereo. Screamo blasted from the speakers that pricked at my sensitive eardrums, but everyone else was really into it.

"You like Of Mice and Men?" Duke called to me.

"Never heard of them," I yelled back. He looked shocked.

"Did you grow up in a supressed household or something?" he joked, but he still wanted an answer.

I smiled without humor. "Something like that. My parents and family are...cultured people, I guess you could say."

I didn't feel comfortable talking about my family since I couldn't really say anything bad about them without being highly unfair, but he looked at me like he did earlier, expecting an answer. To that, I just shrugged at him.

When he turned back around, I focused on the energy of the music, the screaming. I found that even though it was hard to get used to at first, I actually enjoyed it. The passion behind was enough to satisfy my newfound apathy.

We drove to the forest, where three tracks into the album, Jesse turned the music down to focus on what he was doing. Some ways in, he pulled into the cover of the trees.

Suddenly, I had a quick flash of vision, exploding into my conciousness like a dynamite stick being set off.

Forest. That's where those figures were. They lived in the forest.

And they were getting closer.

I shuddered.

I fought to keep my terror down. I would need to tell someone soon. That would be the most irresponsible thing I could do, possibly putting everyone I loved at risk, just because of my selfish wallowing. However, there wasn't much I could do, in the situation I was in. In the meantime, I tried to cover up my distraction, which wasn't hard, since no one really noticed.

Jesse parked the car and we all jumped out, I a little shakily. Tony pulled put the pipe, Duke the cannabis.

They got everything ready, and Duke took the honorary first puff. He handed it to Demi, where she took a big hit and coughed. She handed it to me.

"Um..." I said taking the pipe unsurely. Duke's eyes widened.

"Please tell me you've done this, Nia!" Jesse exclaimed.

I smiled apologetically. "Sorry." It really wasn't my fault I was raised horribly sheltered. I didn't really mind. I was supernatural. But in the supernatural world, they didn't have stockpiles of weed laying around everywhere.

Duke laughed. "Oh my god, you're parents will hate us!" He was referring to the cultured joke from earlier. With that, he took the lighter. "Put it to your mouth," he said. I did as instructed. "When I light it, inhale." He flicked the lighter on and lit the cannabis. I inhaled.

It burned my throat. A lot.

I handed the pipe back to the Duke as I coughed harshly. "It hurts," I commented.

"It does that to you," he said. He handed it to Jesse, whose eyes were on me the whole time he puffed from the pipe.

It was like that for a half an hour. We took turns from it, and within two inhales I could feel it. A lot.

Who would have known? Hybrids are _very_ affected by drugs.

Within four inhales I had to sit down. I was high as a kite.

It was funny how much changed in the week. I was no longer a virgin, and I had just snuck out of the house to smoke some weed. I was also miserably heartbroken, which no matter how many times I brought it up with myself, I couldn't seem to get over that fact.

Soon, they were adding more weed to the pipe, and I had to tell them I couldn't because I was ready to fall asleep. It was so easy to feel relaxed, especially because I hadn't been sleeping that well.

Tony teased Demi and I for being a "lightweight," as he called it. Whatever. All these interesting terms.

Soon, Jesse tapped my shoulder when I was starting to doze off. "Hey," he said.

"Um, hey," I responded, working with human speed to my feet.

"I wanted to uh, apologize for being an ass earlier." He stuck his hands in his pockets.

Hmmm. He did something half nice. "Forgiven," I said, partly because I was too relaxed to care.

I took a look around and realized that everyone was some ways ahead of us, walking back to the car. It was just me and him.

"Everyone likes you, by the way," he said. His pale green eyes looked at me with almost childish earnest.

I smiled. "That's a relief, I suppose."

Jesse smiled and leaned in to kiss me. I almost pulled away, but I didn't. I figured I was already on the bottom.

For a moment, I believed that he had some redeeming qualities. I _hoped _he did.

I wanted to believe that everyone did.

* * *

><p>We got to my house first, mostly by request from me. I was too tired to even continue hanging out with them. On a random thought, I made a note to tell Grandpa, if I ever got the chance to, about the affects of cannabis on hybrids. It was weird, but it seemed important then.<p>

I climbed out of the car, waving goodbye to everyone. Jesse shot me a look and smiled slightly. Duke winked at me. I smiled back in both of their general directions, turned, and walked up the long path. They pulled away soon after I got out of the car.

When I was in the clear, I ran with vampire speed back up to the front doorstep. It was five o'clock and no one seemed to be home yet.

I walked in through the door, making my way through to the kitchen. I would write a note to Jacob and Nessie to tell them I was going to go hunt, because that was my number one priority to ensure that I wouldn't be a danger.

Instead, I turned the corner and almost ran into someone.

I skidded back to see that I was standing eye to eye with my mother.

"Seraphina, honey. Please, let me talk to you."

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><p><em>AN: A little cliffy there. Well, since I have more time, expect another chapter soon. ;)_


	19. Hello

_A/N: I KNOW I KNOW, I actually came thorugh with my promise to update soon. :D Yay for unbroken promises? (:_

_PLEAAAAASSEEEEE review. They keep me wanting to move forward with my story. And if you like, I recommend doing it because I get unmotivated fast ):_

_Sadface._

_Well, anyways. _

**No chapter song or quote this time around.**

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><p><strong>Sera (Nia) POV<strong>

"_Seraphina, honey. Please, let me talk to you."_

Damn.

I sighed and looked around the room. No one was home, no excuse to try to escape. I felt ashamed, standing in front of my mother like this. I smelled like weed and I couldn't look her in the eye, because I had made some grave mistakes this past week.

"Seraphina." She said it with earnest. I knew this was weird for everyone in my family. They all tried their best to call me by my full name, not Sera. I had been Sera by whole life.

But I believed that names held a lot of power. Switching from Sera to Nia was easy. It was easy to become this apathetic _thing, _selfish and pitiful and prone to doing bad things. I hated myself. But after everything I had done this week, I didn't know if I'd ever be able to make the switch back.

I hated to be the diappointment. I was running around, acting like a slut and a fool. I had sex with a man that I had known for an hour, and gave him my virginity. I was going _out of my way _to break the law and do bad things and lose the essence of _myself._

My eyes started to water. I couldn't help it. After the first night, I didn't allow myself to cry much, because I didn't allow myself to feel anything. I believed life was easier that way.

I turned away from my mother, whose hands were making soothing patterns on my arm. I didn't deserve it. I had done nothing this week worthy of being treated this way.

A sob broke free.

My mother tried to console me even though she had only said one thing to me yet. She tried to bring my head down into her chest so that I could cry, like I used to when I was little, especially when _he _was away. She tried to tell me that everything was all right and could be fixed.

She tried. I know she did. But I couldn't bring myself to let her.

I skidded back a few steps like a spooked horse. She stopped and stood very still.

"Mom, I'm really sorry," I sobbed, wiping my tears with the back of my hand.

She looked at me with sad eyes. "Oh honey. I see so much of Jasper in you. I can see it in your eyes, you loathe yourself, and that _kills _me. And you think that the mistakes that you've made were forgivable, so you're punishing yourself for them. Please don't." She approached me, putting her hand on my wrist.

I drew a shaky breath. "I can't go home yet."

If vampires could cry, she would have teared up. "Why not?" This had to have been hard for her. She probably felt like she was losing her only daughter.

"I can't face everyone yet. It's been hard enough facing these three. I know that Nessie is blaming herself for my being miserable, and Allegra is so sweet. She asks me every day if I'm hungry for dinner with this h-hopeful expression, and I just keep shooting her down. I'm bad c-company." Another sob free.

"You're _family, _sweetie. No one will judge you for your rough patch."

I pulled free of her grasp and shook my head. "I can't. Not now. Please just let me get myself together, at least a little bit. I can't go home like this," I pleaded. She had hardly talked to me, hardly changed my mind, and I was ready on the defensive.

She looked very upset. I touched her hand briefly, and with one more sob and a mangled "sorry," I ran free from the house.

It was still light out when I ran into the forest. The forest was blurry; I was still crying. I didn't stop, I didn't look back. I kept running.

I had gotten about three miles before I decided to stop for a minute. I leaned heavily against a tree, trying to control my tears. I hated crying, I really did. Even alone in a forest with no one around to hear me. I felt pathetic enough _without _the tears. The high was wearing off – I guess that's part of it when you're a half vampire, you recover quickly.

I almost didn't notice it through all the crying, by my thirst made me hyperaware. A mountain lion, stalking my presence. I quickly reverted into my vampire side and jumped onto the tree I was leaning against. From this angle, I saw a mountain lion forty feet away from where I just was squeal in suprise when I left out of vision. My vampiric side did all the work. Before I knew it, I was jumping silently from one tree to the next until I was hanging directly over it. It didn't move from its spot yet –only about five sconds had passed – since it was still trying to scout me out. Unfortunately, the thing didn't stand much chance.

Silently, I dropped into freefall right on top of the mountain lion's back, my teeth aimed for the jugular- before I even knew what I was doing. It all happened so fast. One second, I was crying, and then the next, I was hunting. I must have been dangerously thirsty, I just didn't get the full impact until now.

This one didn't even put up an ounce of fight. The time it took for me to jump on its back and sink my teeth into its neck was about one second all together. When it began to rear, I snapped its neck clean.

A clean death. Probably a better fate for it than ending up as a pelt. Its blood nourished me so that I could control my thirst around humans. I never really admitted it to myself, but I knew what I was capable of.

Hot blood seeped into my mouth like a tall drink on a summer's day. I never realized how thirsty I had been until this very moment. It soothed every pore in my body.

I liked it so much that I instantly decided I wanted more.

When every drop of blood had been consumed, I cast the beast away from me. I felt calmer, clearer. It was nice to revert to the side of me that wasn't so affected by what I was feeling. When you gave into your instincts, there was no thought. Only do. And you had one objective: blood.

There seemed to be no blood on me, but I couldn't vouch for my face just yet. Hopefully there wasn't much blood at any rate since the thing hardly put up a fight.

I didn't revert back to my human side just yet. I was still in hunting mode, except I was considerably stronger.

I closed my eyes and tried a hand in something that I was trying to get better in – tracking. I let the forest fill my nose and my ears stretch for footsteps.

One mile away, a lone deer wandered the forest. I didn't need much more blood, but the first hunt tasted so amazing that I let myself be a little greedy.

My feet moved for me. I darted high-tail into the forest rather than go about my normal jumping-from-trees method. I wanted to feel completely vampire.

Getting to the thing took about thirty seconds. It saw me coming and turned to run, yet it had no chance at all. I circled it and faced it head on, darting to its neck. It tried to fend me off with its enormous antlers, but it didn't find any purchase. I sucked its blood down as easily as I had the first time.

There was still a little blood left, long past the point of death, and I really hated to be wasteful. I just couldn't stuff another drop inside me. I looked down at the stag with disdain. The mountain lion tasted better.

I decided that I had had enough blood, and ventured home. Leaving had been as easy as coming; I just followed my scent.

I got back to the house to find that the trio's car was parked in the driveway. With a sigh, I let myself into the house.

I startled Jake when I walked inside. "Oh – Seraphina – " he stammered.

I smirked, unable to find his bristling unamusing. "Did I startle you?"

He chuckled a little bit. "Yeah." He eyed me suspiciously though, like I was about to burst into flames. He sighed. "You feeling better?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I needed to hunt." As I said this, Nessie came around the corner with big eyes. "Sera? I-I mean – Seraphina – "

I tried to ignore the slip up, but I winced ever-so-slightly. "Yeah?"

"You're here. Like, here, with us. It's good to see you out and about." Nessie looked decidedly happy about this.

And of course, always happy Allegra came rounding the corner. "Seraphina!" she yelled, grinning ear to ear. I smiled a little bit in return.

"Will you eat?" Allie demanded.

My face fell a little bit. "I just hunted," I said with a small frown. I felt bad. I probably should eat something with them.

"Oh," was all Allie said, her face doing the same.

I crossed the room and put my hand on her shoulder. It seemed like one of those situations where I should crouch down to look at her, but she was almost taller than me. "I promise I'll eat tomorrow though." I said it as hopefully as I could manage.

Her face brightened a little at the idea, but she didn't say anything. I turned around to find that Nessie and Jake were staring at me with a little shock and awe, because I had actually interacted with them for the first time this week. I was a really terrible house guest.

I stood there awkwardly, feeling the hunting-high as well as the actual high fade. "Um, I'll just be in my room. I should probably take a shower anyways." With that, I darted into my room and shut the door.

I turned on the shower, but I couldn't help the snippets of conversation I caught. _"Did you see that?" _Jake asked with awe.

"_She looked...better. But when we got home, Alice said that she had ran out of the house crying." _Nessie looked unsure.

"_What about Seth?" _Allegra asked. His name. Ugh.

"_What about him, sweetie?" _Nessie responded.

"_Will he ever come home?" _

A moment of silence. My ear drums were pricking I was listening so closely, and I had subconciously moved to be right in front of the door. _"I'm not sure," _Jake finally said.

So he had left. I didn't know why this made me so depressed. I wanted nothing to do with him, why couldn't a stick to that? Why should I care?

But no matter which way I cut it, I cared. A lot. I wondered if he was hurt or fed or cold or dead...

No matter how much apathy I tried to cram down my own fucking throat, I still cared about Seth more than life itself.

"_Have you talked to him?" _Nessie asked.

More silence, and then an answer. _"Yes. He's...not taking it well at all."_

He's.

Not.

Taking.

It.

Well.

At all.

Like medicine? Did he have to take it in doses? Could he only deal with one aspect at a time? Or what about at all? Did he shove apathy down _his _throat? Did he care too much? Is he going insane?

And that was all I could stand listening to. With a hand covering my mouth, I tried not to sob too loudly as I ran into the bathroom and planned a very long, very hot shower.

* * *

><p><strong>Embry POV<strong>

I had just left the Cullen house again after a long day with Allie. Normally, I would have free reign to go to Nessie and Jake's as I pleased, but Sera was there and that was...all bad.

What I hated most was how torn up Allegra was over it. She was never one to get too down on anything, but she really loved her cousin, and Allie was the most caring person I had ever met.

At lunch time, Nessie and Jake wanted to take Allie to a movie with just them three, so I was all alone. Allie and I had been seperated more than usual recently. It was more a specific reason however, and by request.

Jake tasked me with tracking Sera.

He and Ness knew that she left the house during the day. Someone like Sera was never an indoor person. They sent me to watch her, and to make sure that she was safe.

Well folks, I could vouch for her safety, her thinking however...

I knew all about those dicks she was hanging out with. The slimy one with the pale green eyes was the one that she was hanging around with. Today though, she met his friends.

Seth was still in wolf mode. But whenever any of us were phased, he phased back right away. Jake told me to watch her but not tell him anything, because he was the only one who talked to Seth, and he didn't want it slipping through his mind to show that Sera was going down a wrong path.

The only thing I told him was that she was safe. And if she was in trouble, I was to rescue her.

I was dying to tell him all about how she had sex with this kid, about how she did drugs today, but I couldn't. I wanted to tell _someone_ though. Sera was practically self-destructing.

My first thought was instantly Allegra, since she was my best friend, but I could never ruin her image of Sera. Sera was already depressed and Allie was taking it really hard.

My next thought was Alice and Jasper. But there would be no way that would be kept a secret from the family, and it would leak through to Jake. Plus, it wasn't my place to start a family feud while Sera was going through a rough time and her imprint was in hiatus.

I really hated the situation they were in.

I never got full details of what happened that night. The only people who know it in full is Jake and Seth and Sera, and even they don't have the other side. Possibly Edward too, but that's inescapable. Jake knows because that's all Seth thinks about, and Sera knows because...well.

Jake never phases when I am a wolf because of the information that_ I_ know, and it's none of my business anyways. It's a delicate situation, keeping things from Seth. I still am curious as to what really happened, because if it affects my imprint, it affects me. Things couldn't be truer for those two...

* * *

><p><strong>Sera (Nia) POV – <strong>_**The next day**_

I woke up with the sound of the front door closing. My alarm clock read 9:17, earlier than I have been waking these days gone by.

I had a weird feeling about today.

You know those days where you wake up and everything just seems...off? Not to say that in general the week has been the definition of an _off week, _but today in particular.

I had just been dreaming about a sandy-colored wolf running through the forest, which instantly put a glass splinter into my heart. He was wandering aimlessly, without purpose.

I stood up out of bed, but felt something unfamiliar covering my body. Shocked, I looked down, and was immediately taken aback. I had gone to bed naked, too tired to even put on the simplest of sleep clothes. I stood up wearing a large plaid shirt, a shirt I didn't even know I had.

I ran to the mirror, and looked in horror.

It was the plaid shirt Seth wore to my first birthday party.

I jumped in the air about three feet and took the shirt off immediately. I didn't even know I _had _it. I didn't remember putting it on, and I wasn't a sleepwalker. The fact that the shirt was lying there tugged at my heartstrings and tears welled in my eyes.

But more importantly, the shirt smelled like him. Much more potent than I would have guessed.

His scent was now saturating the room, and that was more than I could take. I picked the thing off the floor and planned to toss it in the laundry hamper.

But it wasn't the fact that I was wearing his shirt and his had smell saturating the room that piqued my interest.

No.

It was the clearly defined trail, coming in from the window and leading to my bed.

It was a foreign smell.

Someone had been in my room.

I covered my mouth with my hand, feeling all oxygen evaporate.

My limbs went numb. I looked around the room, trying to find other evidence of the person. I started to hyperventilate, started to fear that they had gotten to one of my family members.

That would be my absolute worst nightmare.

In the end, I actually found something.

It was a neatly folded note, on the edge of my dresser.

With shaking hands, I unfolded the note, and read something that made my blood run cold:

_**Seraphina,**_

_**Hello.**_

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><p>AN: Thoughts? Questions? Concerns? Violent outbursts? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review. (:

Until next time, Chels.


	20. Driven to Extremes

_A/N: This chapter is going to be pretty intense. And it's going to clear the air for a lot of people who kinda hated Sera for being a little pansy about a kiss, while she went and fucked someone._

_Excuse my french._

_The story is starting to get darker and more complex. Shit is about to get real now. ;)_

_Love, Chels._

**Chapter Song: **_Decode, _by Paramore.

"_Attachment is the great fabricator of illusions; reality can be attained only by someone who is detached."_

_~ Simone Weil_

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><p><strong>Seraphina POV<strong>

With shaking hands, I pulled out my cell phone with the intention of making a text and a phone call.

I first sent the text because it was the easiest – I sent one to Jesse, telling him I couldn't hang out. I rarely ever used this phone to text Jesse, because it was my father's. I had never given it back after that night. Jesse texted me back, but I never read it. I was too busy dialing Edward. He would know to give the phone to my dad.

My dad answered before the first ring was over. "Seraphina?" He seemed shocked that I had even called. I hadn't talked to him all week.

I pushed my feelings down as a bad daughter and got straight to the point. "Dad, someone was in my room. A foreign scent. I-I don't know what they want. They left a note..." I was already shaking, just saying it out loud.

My dad let out a prolonged snarl. My dad was usually the most even-tempered of my family behind Grandma and Grandpa, but he reacted strongly. I knew that of all the times, this was the appropriate time to be angry, but I still stayed quiet. I wasn't so much angry as I was in shock. "We're coming now. Stay put and lock the doors." There was no need for questions. Someone was in my room, and that was enough. My family was coming to get me.

It looked like my hiatus was over.

He hung up the phone, and I let the device slip from my weak hands onto the bed. This was the time for bravery, I knew it. I would have to set aside my trembling emtoions to keep everyone safe.

What would it be like now, to be a part of the Cullen clan again? I know that they had been my whole life, them and the wolves practically all that I had ever known, that that seemed like eons ago.

But alas, it was this week. The most miserable one of my life.

It didn't seem like much, only a week, but in the terms of a hybrid, one week could equate to half a year of development in some cases.

I tried to push it all aside so I could do what my dad instructed me to do. I locked all of the windows and doors, but thankfully there weren't many in Nessie and Jake's relatively small house. And as soon as I was finished, there was a knock on the door.

I looked into the peephole – Mom and Dad.

I unlocked the door and ran instantly into their arms. I was trembling all over. Just the fact that someone had the nerve (considering this was a house full of supernatural creatures) to go into my room just to give me such a vague note gave me chills. Why would that monster go to such extents? Why would they want me to know their presence? I know that I was a hybrid, but I thought all the buzz was about Nessie, being the first hybrid the Volturi had ever met and everything. The one everyone was curious about. The one with the survivng mother and an imprint for a husband. Nessie was the special one, not me. I came after all the drama. So _why me?_

I felt a gush of wind sail past me and into the house, with Embry and Jacob following closely behind. And just like that, my family had arrived. My heart started to flutter nervously.

"Seraphina – hey," Bella said first, walking up the porch to give me a gentle hug. Rosalie kissed my forehead, and my uncles took turns patting me on the back. Grandpa and Grandma embraced me gently.

Seeing all of their faces was a sight for sore eyes. I really missed them. Nessie, Allegra, and Jake came into the house in a way made me wonder if they were ashamed, which I didn't get. It wasn't their fault some deranged vampire had wandered into my bedroom. Jake was on edge and Allegra was silently clinging to Embry. Embry was extremely paranoid over the fact that the vampire had been in the same house Allegra had been in while she was sleeping. His eyes darted nervously everywhere, and occasionally he would hold Allie tighter, like he couldn't stand the thought of her not being next to him. I didn't have time to think much of it though. Nessie grabbed my hand and pulled me aside into the kitchen, away from all the chaos in the living room, where people were already dividing up responsibilities for a security detail.

"Are you okay, honey?" Nessie asked endearingly. I nodded my head, but it was jerky and forced.

Nessie ran a hand through my tangled hair and sighed. During the time in which I found the note and my family had showed up, I threw on a black t-shirt that went down to my calves. It had been Seth's at one time, but the scent was rooted so deep that no one would even guess. I didn't even remember until this morning, when my mind was already on that track.

I never realized how many of Seth's belongings I had. They were probably from all those times I got dirty from afternoons of playing and he would give me his shirt to cover myself up...

_No, Seraphina. Don't go down that road._

I already had enough to think about as it was, mostly concerning my own life and the life of my family members.

Nessie released me from her embrace and I heard the murmuring quiet down. "Seraphina, come here sweetie," I head Rosalie call from the other room.

Nessie gave me an encouraging smile, and I took a deep breath. This would be the first time I would be facing all of them at once.

I walked into the living room. Everyone was standing in a haphazard circle, all engaged in their little priorities. I noticed that Jake wasn't there, but everyone else was present. My hands started to tremble.

And they were all looking at me. I wonder – if they looked at me long enough, would they gather the fact that I had been messing around with Jesse and his friends?

"Baby, we were wondering if you could use psychometry on the note," Rosalie said. They all looked at me gently, like if they stared at me for too long I risked bursting into flames.

I nodded and swallowed hard, walking over to the note. I picked it up tenderly. The note was heavy, but it felt poisonous.

I closed my eyes and focused my energy to my hands.

The normal electric feeling burst into my body and my vision was replaced by another. A dark-haired woman with messy hair and pale white skin had jumped into my room while I was asleep. She watched me for a second, and tilting her head curiously, she placed the note on the dresser before jumping out of the room. For a minute, she watched. Through her eyes, I watched myself toss and turn, and eventually stand up to take out the shirt that smelled so much like Seth out of my bag, and put it on...

I remained holding the note, focusing hard on the rest of the vision. I had never practiced my gift for so long before. I tried finding the reasons behind it, but I quickly realized that I couldn't do that while I was awake. I focused even harder, feeling my muscles tense with force, and things soon started going black...

* * *

><p><em>I took a shocked breath in as my vision was, yet again, replaced by another one. I was stuck in dream world, the scarier and more precise realm of my visions. I knew that because of the airy quality of all my surroundings. However airy, my surroundings were as familiar as an old friend. I was in La Push.<em>

_And I was watching myself run for my life._

_I looked crazed. I had a healing gash on my arm and my own blood, as I suspected, was matted in my hair. I was running through the woods parallel to the beach with a determined look in my eye, but I looked absolutely terrified. I wasn't really running to save _my _life however, it seemed like I was running to save someone else's..._

_I yelled at my vision-self, to turn around and look at the vampire that was stalking me in the shadows. But I couldn't be heard. _

_My vision started leaving me. No! I needed to find out what happened!_

_I screamed as my world went black for a second time._

It couldn't have been long, the time I spent in that world. "Seraphina!" I heard someone call, and I felt a sharp pain against my cheek.

I was slow to open my eyes. It felt like sandbags were weighing down my eyelids. Even with my eyes closed, the light in the living room still burned. _Oooo, ugh, why were lights invented, _I thought rather dumbly. I heard Edward mutter to someone to close the blinds, and I felt Emmett's heavy footfalls leave my side for a moment before returning.

It felt better to open my eyes then. I opened them slowly, carefully, like they might shatter if I did it to fast.

Like I expected, in the clammer of noise that ensued when I opened my eyes, my mother was the loudest.

"Sweetie, are you okay?" she asked, brushing the hair out of my face.

"Um, yes, I think." I blinked hard, trying to clear the blurring in my vision.

"What happened?" Grandpa asked, moving through the crowd of people swarming me to check my temperature. I _did _feel very flushed, like I had been running for a long while. Allie hissed at them to all back up when they moved even closer. I don't think anyone was more shocked than Embry. They all did as they were told, warily eyeing the little girl with crossed arms and concerned green eyes.

"I did psychometry for too long I think, longer that I ever had. It made everything go black." It was true. My visions never lasted that long. Normally a small touch was enough to discern the future, but lately, it felt soggy, like mud was seeping through. It made me second guess my visions. It made my visions not as powerful.

"What did you see?" Emmett asked curiously, and Dad punched him in the arm. Emmett shrugged at him.

"I saw...a woman. With dirty hair and pale skin, vampire. She watched me while I slept and then put the note on my dresser before leaving." I left out the part about the shirt and how she watched me put it on...I felt so violated.

"Is that all?" Rosalie pressed.

I shot Edward a look, who seemed somewhat pained. _Don't say anything about the shirt. I can't admit it to anyone._

Edward sighed and gave a slight nod.

"I went into the _other_ realm, the one I go to when I sleep," I said, to satisfy Rose's question. Everyone looked interested then. They all knew this was the more accurate version of my visions.

They looked at me expectantly. I took a deep breath. I would eventually have to tell them about the figures that I've been seeing, the ones that smelled like death...

If Edward could look more suprised, his eyebrows could have fallen off.

Damn.

"Well, I saw myself at First Beach. Not at it, but in the woods just parallel to the beach. I was running. And...I was bleeding. I was running to someone, but I don't know who." That was the barest amount of detail that I could give without lying. I didn't mention the terror I felt behind it, how I wasn't concerned for my _own _life, but a stranger's.

It was implied though. I didn't need to mention the excrutiating details, because hisses erupted from around the circle.

"We'll keep you safe," Embry promised.

"What should we do?" Mom asked, turning to Grandpa. Everyone turned to face him too.

He looked studious for a moment, gazing out the window. "Well, the clear choice is that Seraphina should come back with us. But somehow I fear – "

"Carlisle, Jasper. I need to talk to you." Jake reentered the circle with a grave expression. Something about that told me that it was important, because he wouldn't have interrupted otherwise.

"What is it, Jacob?" my father asked.

Jacob left the cirlce, and after a brief moment, Grandpa and Dad followed him. They left a wake of shocked silence.

Edward sat down with his head in his hands, and Bella sat next to him, massaging his shoulders gently. Everyone else remained mute.

Suddenly, I felt exausted. I was still sitting on the floor, and there was still a circle of people around me. Emmett saw this and picked me off the floor like I was physically four again, and sat me down on the couch with his unwavering Emmett-smile. I chuckled a little. But only a little. The circle moved to be around me again.

A few minutes later, Dad, Jake, and Grandpa returned, all looking solemn.

Their faces...I couldn't take it. I already had so much to deal with. It looked like I was going home after this whole ordeal that had just occured, to the place I had been trying to avoid during the upheaval of my life. But when I start to have some semblance of security at Nessie and Jake's, this _thing _just meandered into my room, invaded my personal comfort which left me with the crawling skin I had now, just to leave me an ominous note.

The note, however simple it was, had an ulterior message that I read loud and clear.

_We are watching you, and you are not safe._

I started trembling and my eyes started to water with terror. Not for me, but the reprocussions that came with the supernatural life and what it might mean for my family.

If _any _one of my family members perished saving _me, _wolf or vampire, I would never forgive myself. I wouldn't know how to continue to be without any one of my family members. They all had such an intregal part in who I had become. I couldn't imagine what I would be like, or where my life would be right now if my mother and father hadn't walked in on my gruesome birth.

Who _would _I be without them?

Jake and Edward seemed to be having a silent conversation, much like a tennis match. Some of my family members were even watching back and forth.

From the outside, it would have looked amusing. I might have even laughed. Under the circumstances...not so much.

My dad looked sad. I didn't realize how sad he actually was when he walked in, but now that he was here, watching me, I could see just how much he was.

This was a grave atmosphere at any rate. I didn't have a very good emotional climate, nor did anyone, but _especially _me. I must have been toxic for him. I must have been toxic for _everyone, _which just made me want to leave the room and run into the forest. Maybe call Jesse or Duke.

Edward broke away from the conversation. "Don't think that about yourself."

I blinked. With his silent conversation going on, I wasn't even aware that he was listening to me. Everyone turned their faces to mine with a question in their eyes.

I felt nervous. I looked down at my hands.

Bella was the first one to break the silence. "Well, glad to see she hasn't lost _that _Seraphina aspect."

"What?" I asked.

Bella smiled gently as everyone else caught on. My dad let out a sigh of relief as the tension in the room evaporated a little. "If you could furrow your eyebrows any more, I think they might permanently stay that way."

I blinked a few times as I let that sink in. It was such a simple, quirky trait about me. But the fact that Bella pointed it out made me feel like I was in there somewhere. A habit that I have done since I was very little, it was like being reminded that there was still a breathing person inside this shell of mine.

It gave me more hope than I thought was proper or even possible. But in any sense of the word, it gave me _hope._

"You've aged some too," Bella also pointed out, as Edward and Jake continued on with their silent conversation.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah. I think that...all you've gone through, it's increased the aging process. You look closer to eighteen than you do sixteen, from about a week ago. It could also be because you just need to smile, for god's sake."

I smiled as warmly as I could without my face feeling like it would crack. "That better?"

"It's a start," Bella said, winking at me.

I appreciated Bella telling me how it was. I didn't like everyone around me being so afraid to step on my toes, always making sure that they spoke to me in a low voice and never said anything too out there. It made me feel closer to normalcy. However, I was still breakable.

And Edward and Jacob were _still _having a silent conversation. It clearly had something to do with me, because they kept giving me long sideways glances. Jacob would think something out and Edward would respond in any way he could, sometimes even blatantly pointing at me. I couldn't take it.

"Please just say it out loud! It's clearly about me!" I said, feeling annoyed.

Everyone looked a little shocked at my outburst. Allie – sweet girl – came to sit by me and grabbed my hand, telling me it would be all right. I smiled at her appreciatively.

Jake turned to face me slowly, his eyes full of pain. I braced myself, gripping Allegra's hand tightly.

"Seraphina, there's no easy way to say this, so it's just going to be like a band-aid and I'm just going to say it and get it over with," he said slowly. He got a look of determination on his face. Why did he look so pained?

Then he said something that was definitely a fork in the road. "I left to phase so I could tell Seth what was going on, since he has that right to know. Even if you aren't speaking to him. I told him about what just occured last night. He's, well...he's coming back. Here. I'm really, really sorry."

Everyone held their breath.

And I shattered.

Seth. _Seth. _It was too soon. No, I couldn't face him. His name in my head, the fact that he was coming _back, _the fact that I would have to _face him..._

I whimpered aloud. Allie leaned her head against my shoulder, but I barely noticed.

Why would Seth even want to face me? I had rejected the imprint. I had told him to leave, and he ran. I had told him to leave with my mangled heart, and I knew that whatever I felt, he was feeling too.

That was the way an imprint worked.

But...I had a strange thought. It _had _been a kiss. I had destroyed my integrity that night and gave away my virginity, which was worse. Maybe the force of what I was feeling – the force of my broken heart – was actually mixed with his?

But I was a _hybrid_. I was driven to extremes on a daily basis. I already had a rebellious streak in me that refused to go away, even now. And I soon figured out, right after it happened, that when my heart broke, it broke with a _passion. _The force of my emotions was enough to drive Seth and my family away from me, all at once. I hurt to deeply, and loved too strongly. It was no wonder that I had been driven to such dire extremes. He kissed someone, I had sex with someone. No matter which way I went, it would be extreme.

But it wasn't just me that I was feeling, I knew that now. No matter how much I wanted Seth to leave that night, no matter how much I believed he betrayed me, we were irrevocably connected.

This I realized. No matter how much I may have wanted to deny the imprint, there was no way I could. And moreover...I didn't want to.

I had sensed danger last night with my heightened intutition. I was aware of the danger, but my subconcious knew everything that I was realizing now. _Everything. _And it's reaction was to take the only thing I owned that was saturated with _Seth, _and put it on my body.

Because Seth was a part of me.

Because my subconcious knew that I _needed_ Seth.

Why was I so unsure? A week ago I was convinced that I hated him. It was so out of character for me, to hate anyone. But I had felt it so strongly. And now, I was sure that I would need to be the one grovelling.

And I wasn't going to get better without him here, I knew that though. It didn't matter if he refused to talk to me. It didn't matter if he had developed a certain hate for me, even though it was Seth and probably couldn't hate a fly. Being apart was equivalent to sucking the life out of both of us.

But even with all of this, _how could I get over everything I had felt?_

It was silly of me to think of all these things and how much I needed him, but couldn't get past everything I had felt this past week. Would it ever be the same? Could I even look at him the same? When he found out what I did, would he look at _me _the same?

I didn't even realize I was sobbing. I didn't even realize that I had three pairs of hands consoling me. I didn't even realize that my dad had to leave the room, because I really _was _toxic. Just me. Me and my wallowing.

I looked down at my cousin, who I felt extremely protective over. Would she learn from my mistakes? Her feelings were starting to change, but what about _Embry?_ Was he looking at me, also trying to learn from my mistakes?

I _prayed _that her imprinting story would be much less uneventful and harsh than mine was unfolding out to be.

* * *

><p><strong>Seth POV<strong>

I was running down the countryside as a wolf. I couldn't tell you details, because I wasn't paying attention to them.

I was somewhere in Canada, where it was pretty unpopulated. Probably northern Canada.

The only details I had been going over had been combed over so many times, it was like torture now. I had gone over every detail of that night, one week ago. _Every _detail. It was like a broken record.

It's funny that they tell you to not have regrets in life, but to me that was bullshit, especially if you were in my predicament. I was sure regretting _that _night. I would do anything to erase it from everyone's memory, to erase it from history.

_Why _did I have to go to that freaking party? I could have said, "No, this party is going to be too dangerous for my Sera, I don't want any creeps looking at her and thinking that they could destroy her innocence," and been on my way. I could have still been watching her from a distance as she smiled and laughed and moved as gracefully as a ballerina, falling even more hopelessly in love with her than I already was. I could have been laughing at her quirks – her expressive eyes, her undisputed genius, the way she would go to such extents to dodge her mother when she was getting dressed, the furrow in her eyebrows...

This is the longest I had ever gone without seeing Sera's beautiful face. I just wish I had realized how beautiful it really was before it was too late.

I had always thought Sera was the most beautiful creature I had ever set my eyes on, but never in the creepy way. Now, all I wanted to do was lock her up in a bedroom with me and never let her go.

I shook my head, trying to get that image out of my head. I couldn't remember the last thing I ate. That was another detail that escaped me. I smelled a deer about a half of a mile in, but I didn't feel very hungry.

Another image that never left my head – the girl I had stupidly kissed.

_I sat down at the couch, watching my beautiful imprint leave my side. I instantly missed her. I missed her so much that I didn't even notice the blonde I was sitting next to._

"_Seth?" she asked, shocked._

_That got my attention. I turned my head towards her. Something about her rung a bell, but I couldn't remember from when or how she did._

_Compared to Sera, this girl had nothing on her, I thought proudly. But this girl knew my name, so I paid attention._

"_Do you remember me?" she asked, fluttering her eyelashes._

_Was I supposed to? "I'm sorry, but I don't," I said apologetically._

_She pouted. "Maisy Cavanaugh."_

_I sifted through names and faces, but anything before Sera seemed just...unimportant somehow. And I could say without a doubt I didn't meet her when Sera was alive._

_Which would have been a few years ago. That was a long time back to remember someone._

_She stared at me bluntly. "You and I had sex, after we got back from John's party a couple years back."_

_And there it was, the light bulb. She was the last person I had ever had sex with._

"_You know, I remember you being really good in bed," she said in a sultry way, moving closer to me. _

_I laughed nervously. "Um, thanks I think."_

_How were you supposed to respond? Yeah, I was an idiot. I know. I egged her on._

_She nodded slowly, her eyes becoming hooded as they never left my eyes. She was clearly drunk, maybe a little high judging by how red her eyes were. I felt her hand creep onto my leg, which startled me immensely, but being around vampires so much, I became still. I stared at Maisy's hand like it was going to turn into a cat._

_She took this as a sign. "Why don't we...get better acquainted?" she purred, and closed the distance in between our mouths._

_She must have been pretty drunk to be so bold with someone who had barely even said _anything_ to her. For the life of me, I would never understand what she was thinking._

_For a second, I was too shocked to do anything. I could only fathom the fact that she had her mouth on my mouth. But (clearly) without thinking, I started moving mine with hers._

It may have seemed like a misunderstanding, but I blamed myself, as I should have. In any sense, I had kissed her back. I should never have stayed quiet. I should have told her I came with someone and I wasn't interested, which was the 100% truth. But my shocked brain, fried by my all of the emotions I felt earlier about Sera, didn't respond fast enough. And when I thought it could only get worse, my brain didn't even function enough to stop. My mouth, on its own, started moving with Maisy's.

This was the biggest mistake of my life. Because I soon found out that Sera was watching, and nothing would be the same.

I was an absolute _idiot! _I was the world's biggest idiot, allowing myself to kiss Maisy back.

I don't think I could ever forguve myself, especially since I had hurt Sera by doing it.

_It took a few seconds before I realized what was going on. _

_Maisy was kissing me. It felt all wrong, but my mouth acted on its own accord and my tongue slid into Maisy's mouth._

SETH, FUCKING STOP, _I screamed at myself. How could I be doing this? I must be the world's worst imprinted wolf. None of the other guys ever had this problem. They had their gir, and that was it. But my body was reacting to Maisy, which I didn't even know was possible. They probably never found out it was possible because THEY WEREN'T KISSING OTHER GIRLS, I roared in my head. I pushed Maisy back, maybe a little too aggressively._

"_Maisy, stop it," I told her. She was already trying to climb back on me. She was _so _wasted._

"_Why should I?" she purred._

_I held her back. I literally had to _hold _her back. "I...I'm drunk," I lied, probably not very well, but it seemed better than explaining I was a werewolf with an imprint. "I have a girl. I love her."_

_It was weird admitting that. But the words rang true. I was in love with Seraphina Marie Cullen-Whitlock._

"_She's not here," she reasoned, her eyes glinting. I was taken aback. Did she think that I would _cheat?

_Technically you already did Clearwater, the dickhead little voice said in my head. I felt sick._

"_No. She is. She's away right now, about to come back here. And she could probably take you out." Haha._

_Maisy harrumphed and crossed her arms across her chest, looking all pouty. "I bet she couldn't."_

_I laughed out loud with the thought. My girl had a temper and was part vampire. Maisy would have a chance if Sera reacted to stakes and silver, which was crap. "Trust me, she could."_

_I tried to stand up. I felt sick with the thought that my tongue had willingly gone down her throat. I wanted nothing more than to clean my mouth with bleach. However, Maisy clung to my hand. Being that I was a _nice guy, _I stayed._

_So, _so _stupid._

"_Where the fuck are you going," she snapped, almost desperately. What did she _want _from me? I was just Seth Clearwater. I was nothing to her. I think._

_I sighed and turned to face her, gently tugging my hand free. Using my nice guy voice, I told her, "Maisy, you're going to find a guy who's going to love you unconditionally and you're going to settle down with him and have children and be happy. I can guarantee without a doubt that I am not that boy for you. I've found her. She's the one." I smiled to myself as I walked away from her. She yelled for me to turn around and face her, but I never did._

I hated that I always had to be so nice. Normally, it wasn't a problem, but at that particular moment, in that situation, it definitely was.

Leah always said that it was my fatal flaw. It was great up to a point where it would be my downfall. I wonder if Leah _also_ had powers of fortunetelling...

I banged my head against a tree. _Seth, why did you fuck _this _up, out of everything that you could have done?_

I felt someone sigh. I realized wasn't alone in my head. _Still killing yourself slowly? _Jake said sadly.

I looked down at the ground in shame. _How could I not, Jake?_

He sighed again. I could feel his head buzzing. Sera's face popped up...

Sera looked terrible, which instantly made me whimper. She had lost weight and her eyes looked...emotionless.

The fact that _I _had caused that made me want to throw myself off a building. I deserved any amount of revenge – if she wanted to do it – that I would get.

If she even wanted me _home._

No home without Sera...

_Seth, please listen to me. You're going to freak out... _Jacob warned.

_Wha- _I started.

And then I got it. Information. Faces. Horror. A vampire.

Oh.

Oh oh oh.

I snarled. Someone had been in Sera's room, while she was sleeping. They had left her a note, "hello."

_Hello_, I was going to rip you apart and burn your ashes with a blowtorch.

_How dare they, _I snarled, instantly pacing back and forth as I tried to sort it out. My inner animal was practically roaring with rage. I would kill every vampire that tried to threaten her without a question asked. And even if she hated me, I could still protect her...

I could still watch her. I could still love her.

_So I take it that you're coming back? _Jake asked, hopeful. Nervous. Straight to the point. A second ago I had been torturing myself with memories, the next I was planning my return.

There wasn't an option for me though. I didn't care if Sera banished me to the ends of the Earth. As long as I killed whatever was bothering her, as long as she was safe, I could die content.

Until then, I would protect her until she was safe, and _then _she could instruct me to lay underneath a moving bus if she wanted.

There _wasn't an option, _none at all until she had the freedom to make that choice_. _This I had to do for her. I hope to whatever god was out there that Sera found it in her heart to forgive me, even though I didn't deserve it. Because I needed Sera, I freely admitted this. I needed her more than I needed air and being away from her was like having my life energy sucked from me.

_Embry has been watching her and keeping an eye on her, _Jake informed me, breaking into my pitiful declaration of love.

_So why was he not watching her last night? Why was he not protecting her then? _I growled. Of course my mind immediately jumped to that. I had threatened Embry before, I would do it again...

_He only watches her during the day time. She says she doesn't leave the house during the day but she does. _I found out in this train of thought that he was instructing Embry not to tell him the specifics of what she was up to, because Jake was the only one talking to me.

_Why did you not want him to tell you? _I asked, confused.

_Because I didn't want to subject you to any more pain, just in case she was up to no good. It was for oyur sake. _He said this quietly.

_Then what does he actually do then? _I grumbled. Even though I was slightly pissed off, I appreciated that Embry was watching her. I think. It made me feel like a terrible imprint, which I was.

_He makes sure she's not in danger. Not to stop her from making stupid decisions if she makes them. Danger from the more...supernatural side of things. She doesn't know he follows her, _Jake explained.

I wanted to hold her so badly. But I couldn't. She was probably terrified beyond words, but never for herself. No. She was too self-sacrificing, too selfless. She was completely terrified for her family.

She was utterly beautiful. Perfect. Wonderful.

I did not deserve her.

_Well, if there was a better time to win her back, it would be now, _Jake reminded me.

He was absolutely right.

I needed to win her trust back. I just needed for her to be able to look at me again.

As soon as I came to this conclusion, I started running full speed back to Idaho. Back to home, back to Sera.

_I'll see you when you get home, brother, _Jake said, and with the thought of Renesmee suddenly consuming his mind, he phased back.

I had to come home. No choice. I needed Seraphina.

* * *

><p><strong>Seraphina POV<strong>

I had stopped crying.

That was pretty much the only good news I could share.

I sat on the couch very still. Allegra had moved to sit with Embry, and he was currently occupying her with some chatter. It was a good white noise.

Grandma sat with me on the couch, and Bella was in the kitchen making something for the five food-eaters. Everyone else was gone, tracking the scent of the vampire who came into my room last night.

But Seth was coming back.

I probably looked like hell. I _knew _I looked terrible. Compared to all of my stunningly beautiful relatives, I looked the least human out of all of them, surprisingly. I looked _actually _dead.

I needed to stop wallowing. I was annoying myself.

"Honey, we've missed you so much," Grandma said, putting her hand on my hand.

A lump formed in my throat. "I've really missed you guys too." That didn't cover it. I didn't even realize how _much_ I had missed them.

"It's been tough not having you at the house, but we understand," she informed me, giving me a sweet smile. Out of every person I had ever met, my grandma Esme was probably the sweetest. She just had a way about her. It was impossible not to adore her.

I looked down at my lap. "It's just been tough in general I guess."

Not to mention I had "fucked up royally," as Emmett would have put it. I didn't know how I would come clean about that. Or if I could ever come to terms with it.

Grandma gave an understanding nod. "We know. I am no imprinting expert, but what I can gather from it is that it is definitely special and something to be cherished. Even if you can't bear Seth's company right now, in time, he will be worth hearing out."

Embry and Allegra were listening now. From the corner of my eye, I saw Allie sneak a sideways peek at her best friend.

I sighed for her sake.

"I just don't know how to go about it."

"About what, dear?" Grandma asked.

What was I saying? I wasn't sure.

"Go about...everything, I guess. Starting with him coming back. How would I react? I'd probably just avoid him, to be honest. I can't think of anything else I would do."

Grandma nodded slowly, thoughtfully. "I think if you let things happen naturally, everything will just fall into place."

Fall into place. Like they had so wonderfully before.

I felt my eyebrows furrow. I was just exhausted. Being mad at Seth and depressed over what followed was wearing me down to the core. I hated that this is what I turned out to be.

Seriously, what was messing with me? Even with my hybrid emotions, I was never _this _bad.

I wanted to get better, I really did. But there were a few loose ends I had to clean up first.

"Grandma, do you trust me?" I asked suddenly. I had a plan. And it had to be done.

"Yes, I do," she said without hesitation, even though I had done nothing to earn her trust. Embry shot me a look.

"I need to leave for awhile," I confided in her with a low whisper. Her eyes widened.

"Oh Seraphina, I don't think that's such a good idea – "

"Please, Grandma? It'll be good for me, and I'll be right back. I can – I can take Dad's phone with me."

This was a terrible time to be asking, but I still looked at her with pleading eyes. If I had any chance of doing this, it would have to be while everyone was away, and it would be now.

She looked torn. "But you're in danger – "

"If they were coming for me, I would know," I promised. I wasn't completely sure about that though, but she didn't need to know that.

She still looked torn between trusting my intuition and giving into the present dangers. "Technically Grandma, I'm physically eighteen. That makes me an adult," I said wryly. I probably just looked older since, like Bella said, I needed to smile. I was growing faster than Nessie had at my age. I would stop growing when I looked about nineteen or twenty which would be about when I would turn four and a half, and then hit menopause all together when I was around seven or eight. At that point, I would never be able to have children again.

Her lips twitched. "I trust that you trust yourself, my love. That I will always trust in, even when you don't believe it yourself all the time."

She sighed and I remained mute. "You've always been wise beyond your years, considering your actual age especially. Much more mature though. Although you've always been mature and a little serious."

It sounded like her mind was made up. I smiled to myself, knowing that at least, I couldn't disappoint one person. "Well, I hoping to heal myself. Which is why I really need to go."

Grandma stared at me for a moment, and then gave a consenting nod. "Please text me when you're done?" she asked hopefully.

I kissed her on the cheek as I stood up. "Of course."

I said this as I was running out the door. I didn't have much time, and there was a snake I had to take care of.

* * *

><p><strong>Unknown POV<strong>

Things were going smoothly.

My sister had been using her power, making little Seraphina unsure with herself, dulling her vast powers of foresight, allowing us to move in.

She was such a clever girl, it had been hard to seperate her from all the knowledge she had, creating a fog in her visions. Creating moodswings. The little _stunt _with the psychometry today was a close call. She was more powerful and stubborn than we had realized.

My little girl was in a state of heartbreak. It made her fragile emotions easier to mold to our will. No silly girl would be so heartbroken over a wayward and misunderstood kiss. She would have simply been angry and talked it out with her _pet, _as she would have if she had been left to her own clever advices. They would have been free to love each other.

But my sister's power was useful. It allowed us to strain their relationship and create discord in the Cullen household.

The Jesse boy was useful too. With a trick in his emotions, it made him want to keep coming back for more of Seraphina, and with a trick of hers, it was easy enough to drive her to her own natural extremes and force her to open her legs for him.

I thought this to myself as I wrote to her the next note for her finding:

_**My Dearest Seraphina,**_

_**The game has begun.**_

* * *

><p><em>AN: So Sera wasn't this heartbroken by herself over a misunderstood kiss. And what do you guys think about the unknown character? What about Seth's POV finally? REVIEW! :D_

_Chels, xx._


	21. Back Again

_A/N: In this author's note, I included a part of the lyrics from the song "Miles Away" by Memphis May Fire instead of a quote. I am absolutely in love with this song, and it fits well, especially for Seth. In the last chapter, I threw another curve ball: Sera is being controlled emotionally by an anonymous vampire who just likes fucking shit up for her apparently. Please tell me what you think about it! And I'm sorry I throw out more plot twists than an M. Night Shyamalan movie, but it's all for the effort! ;)_

_-Chels. xo_

**Chapter Song: **_Miles Away, _by Memphis May Fire.

_Really I'm so thankful for the people I meet_

_The places I've been_

_And the things I've seen_

_But when she's not here it doesn't feel like I'm living my dream_

_I know they say that no one is perfect_

_But I swear she's perfect for me_

_And that makes it so much harder to leave..._

_How am I suppposed to be_

_Everything they expect me to be_

_When I feel so alone_

'_Cause I left my heart at home_

_She needs me but I know they need me too_

_So God, give me the strength to do what you created me to do_

_If you miss me, I'm just a phone call away,_

_Please be strong_

_Be strong for me_

_I need you to show me_

_How to change the inside of me_

_For my heart_

_For their sake_

_Be strong_

_Be strong for me_

_How am I supposed to be, everything they expect me to be when I feel so alone? _

_So alone..._

_**~ Memphis May Fire, excerpt from "Miles Away"**_

_P.S. I am sorry these author notes are always so fucking long. ;P_

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><p><strong>Seraphina POV<strong>

"Duke, we can't do this."

He had me pinned up against the wall (not by my choice, I assure you), and he was sucking on my neck. One second, we were talking about my relationship with Jesse that I was adamantly wanting to end, and Duke was trying to convince me that I shouldn't...the next, he was making his move on me. Had he always been like this? So...forward?

And why was I being an idiot?

I couldn't do this, at all. It made me feel sick to my stomach, and I was fighting the feeling of giving into Duke with all my might.

And I _didn't even know why, _which scared me.

Was I just a natural whore? I didn't have any real feelings for him. It felt like some strange version of myself was trying to conquer me, mess me up, destroy any sanctity I had. Well, I wasn't having it. My sheer will power could outmatch anything, I knew that for a fact.

"Stop, Duke." He didn't stop. Instead, he put his hand over my mouth. And his blood smelled so good. _What would it be like to taste?_

Let me reiterate, and start from the beginning...

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><p><em><strong>*One Hour Before*<strong>_

I ran out of the house with the intention of tracking down Jesse. I needed to find him and demand answers from him. I wanted to know why he kept coming back for more when I was clearly _no_ joy to be around, and why he did what he did to me that night. I was a virgin; why didn't he stop? I know that I had brought it on myself, asked him to just do it, but any _quality_ person would have stopped to make sure I was all right. And Jesse didn't seem completely evil, just a bit of an asshole, quite frankly. I was going to demand answers from him.

And then I was going to end it with him.

I was done being depressed. I needed to get over it as quickly as possible. Seth was another story all together, but for now, I wanted to cut all my ties to Jesse and have a fighting chance. Nothing to weigh heavily on my shoulders while I tried to, hopefully, understand what was going on with me and Seth.

Thankfully for me, I had no real love for Jesse or his group of friends. The closest I came to caring about was Duke, and even then, I didn't care enough to stick with him while I ditched the others.

Jesse was a distraction. He didn't mean anything and he surely didn't care about me. I had no idea if we were dating or not. Probably not though. I was just a toy to him.

And suddenly, that bothered me a lot.

I wouldn't have said otherwise before, but I felt relieved when I admitted that it bothered me now. It felt like a skin being shed off of me, and suddenly, I had more control over what I was feeling. I could see a speck of light.

I had to fight through my depression, not wait for someone to pull me out. Because if I waited for that, I could count the centuries of darkness that would lay before me.

I was never that girl, that waited for a person to come along and help me out. I needed to help myself first before I turned to Seth and ask him what was going on with us.

Oh god, I was going to talk to Seth.

Maybe.

_Stop being a coward, Seraphina, _I scolded myself. I _had_ to, no exceptions.

Possibly.

I sighed. I couldn't stop adding the uncertainty aspect to whatever I was trying to convince myself of.

I just decided to focus on the task at hand for now. I tried to work out a plan, to figure out what excuses I needed to tell Jesse, concerning how I got to his house and how I would get back, for one.

I didn't want to say any of my family drove me, but that seemed like the obvious choice. I know the situation wasn't as desperate, but I just didn't want to get them involved where they didn't need to be. Jesse also knew I didn't drive. I could just say I walked, but the distance between Renesmee and Jake's house and his house was over twenty miles. So maybe not.

The run over would take me less than thirty minutes, closer to twenty-five if I picked up my pace more. I could just say that I had someone drive me over...

A face suddenly popped into my head. I could actually make it happen, if I wanted to.

I had ran about four and a half miles at that point. I stopped and decided a change of course of action was necessary. It would look weird if I just showed up on his doorstep and had no excuse as to how I got there, right? That's when I decided to pull out my phone and call Duke.

Before I did that, I read the message that Jesse texted me earlier, finally. It read:

_**Thats too bad. I really wanted to c u all dolled up for me today.**_

I snarled under my breath. Maybe it was my inner feminist, spurned from my mother, that was bubbling over, but just the fact that the _only_ reason he wanted to see me dolled up because he wanted to have sex with me was completely ludicrous, and quite honestly, rude.

And just like that, I regained a little more of myself. I become more Seraphina again.

* * *

><p><strong>Break in Seraphina's POV – Unknown #2 POV (Unknown #1 was the previous person – this now is the aforementioned sister)<strong>

Things were not going well anymore, and as I watched this little cunt from the shadows, I fought the urge to rip off her head.

But that's not what _he_ would have wanted, so I controlled myself.

Instead, I watched her through the trees, because my sister commanded me to. And my orders were if _Seraphina_ gained self control back, I was to rip it to shreds.

I tried to shape her will. I tried to mold it to mine, trying to tap into her inner emotions and allow an endless sea of depression wash over her pathetic little body.

But perhaps I underestimated her. She was strong, and her imprint was stronger. Trying to control the way this pathetic little halfling saw her own imprint was no easy task. It was hard enough making that dog kiss that little girl. But getting her in a position to where she saw the kiss unfold so that I could make my strike was tough work. But to _keep _her that way, in this depressive state, was proving to be near impossible.

This little _bitch _was too connected to that mongrel for her own good. I had succeeded in eluding her family, covering my scent, making their senses dull so that I could watch her, as I have been for quite a while. I made her second guess herself time and time again, I made her visions lackluster, I made her emotions practically unbearable to herself and her family. I had trapped her, isolated her from her family. I had found her a little group of pathetic friends that would destroy her will even more, _almost_ without my help.

But things were not going to plan. One by one, Seraphina Cullen was taking back her life.

Her subconscious knew the foreign invasion and was rejecting it. I had experienced this problem a few times before, but I _always _got the upperhand and succeeded. Little Seraphina would join our fold nicely.

But she made the initial error of coming alone _this _time, and I would make sure I would take advantage of it. I would be sure to make this trip unforgettable for my little Seraphina.

In a desperate strike, I decided to launch another attack on this little girl, to see what she was really made of.

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><p><strong>Seraphina POV<strong>

On that whim, I called up Duke.

"Hello?" he asked into the phone.

"Hey Duke, it's Nia," I responded.

"Oh, hey gorgeous. What's up?" _Gorgeous. _I couldn't help but be flattered.

"I was wondering if you could give me a ride to Jesse's. I hate to ask, but...I don't know. It's not really working out – with me and him, I mean." I furrowed my eyebrows and chewed on my lip. It came out worse than I had expected. _Seraphina, you are so incompetent! Duke is Jesse's best friend; why the hell would he give you a ride so that you can _break up _with him?_

"Not working out?" he asked, shocked.

I cringed a little bit. "Uh, yeah. I don't know. I feel really stupid right now. Nevermind..." I mentally slapped my forehead. I didn't think this through at all, and now I just seemed like a narcisstic hussy.

"No, no, Nia. Don't hang up the phone." Duke wasn't quiet on the other end, like I had been expecting.

He started breathing hard, sighing to himself, pursing his lips (from what I could hear) for a good three minutes. I started to feel exposed out in the forest by myself. I could protect myself from many things in this world, but I could _not _protect myself from a vampire, which ironically happened to be the problem at the moment.

"Fine," he finally responded.

I was shocked. "Really?" I asked, genuinely surprised. I wouldn't have even held it against him if he had made some excuse to not help or even hung up on me. Anything other than _this._

"Yeah, I'll give you a ride. Anything for you. Where are you?" he asked.

"I'm standing on the side of the highway that leads to my house. You know which one it is?" It was a pretty abandoned highway until you got closer to Boise. No one had a lot of reason to go back in these parts, which is why my family chose it.

"Yeah..." He sounded confused. "What are you doing on the side of that road?"

I got a little nervous. "Uh, I was out here in the forest for a run. I like running. I got about four and a half miles and a bout of heavy thinking, and then I thought about you." That seemed a little...serious, more serious than what I was going for. Why was I being a bad communicator right now? I never had this problem. I could always say exactly what I meant. That was more or less the case when I started getting nervous and hormonal around Seth for the first time, but _definitely_ before that.

Seth...

I kept the sadness and anxiety at bay. I was doing the right thing, breaking it off with Jesse. I knew it.

_But who would I turn to then? _

I shook my head to clear it a little.

"Really?" He sounded surprised. Not in a bad way, just...surprised.

"Yeah."

He was quiet for a few more moments, and then became exuberant again. "Well, I'll be there in fifteen!" he said excitedly, "Bye, Nia."

"Bye, thanks so much." I clicked the phone off, wondering what could _possibly _go wrong. Life took that as a challenge, clearly.

* * *

><p>"Hey Nia!" I lifted my head from my knees, since I had been sitting on the tree most visible to the road. For some reason, he had no shirt on – <em>oh, nostalgia, what I would do to be in La Push right now <em>– and was sitting in the driver's seat with an easy grin on his face. He looked like he had no problems concerning him driving me to go _break up with his best friend._

I hopped in quickly and he pulled a U-turn in the direction of Boise. We were awkwardly quiet for a few minutes.

"Soooo..." he started, raising his eyebrow at me. I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding.

"Gonna break up with Jesse today, awesome." My voice was heavily laced with sarcasm, so much so that I sounded like Embry. I shook my head.

Duke grimaced. "Yeah, that."

I furrowed my eyebrows and looked down. "I need to get my life together, and well, he's not really helping," I admitted. "To be quite honest, I don't even think we're dating. I'm just a, well, _fuck _for him_._" Curse words still felt strange coming out of my mouth, _even_ after everything.

Duke sighed and pursed his lips. "Why don't we wait for a discussion about this when we get to my place, if that's all right with you? I'd rather focus on driving and not killing us than the beautiful girl sitting next to me."

_Beautiful. _

He thought I was gorgeous _and_ beautiful.

I peeked sideways at him, taking in his figure. He wasn't as muscular as the guys in La Push, but Duke also didn't transform into a werewolf. He had the same russet skin, but a few shades lighter, and had the same short haircut that they all cut their hair in (when they weren't being lazy about it). You could see the light definition of his abs when he was sitting down, and I knew that when he stood, they would be clear to see. I tried not to think to hard about that though.

But I couldn't resist asking about it.

"Duke, why are you shirtless?"

He chuckled. "I had just got out of the shower when you called. And I had no clean shirts. Story of my life. But...I figured you wouldn't mind, at least not right now." At the last part, he turned to give me a cheeky grin. I rolled my eyes but smiled too.

After that had been cleared up, we sat in companionable silence until we got to his house. His body kept coming up as a mental picture in my mind, and I had no clue why.

He parked in the driveway, the tell-tale smell of pot leaking from the house. He scoffed a little to himself and muttered, "Demi can't do one fucking thing for me."

I felt the inevitable question I had in his words pop into my head as he lead me into the house.

Demi wasn't here; I could discern that by the absence of heartbeats, except for, of course, Duke's and mine.

I went to slide my hands into my back pocket and realized, in horror, that I was still wearing the oversized shirt. No pants.

I immediately crossed my arms over my chest self-conciously and winced. No bra either.

If I could have been more fashionably-stunted in that moment, I might as well have been wearing a potato sack.

He raised an eyebrow at me. I blushed as a deeply as a pale half-vampire could.

"Nice outfit." He clearly tried to hide it, but his eyes wandered down to my bare legs.

_Oh god, make it stop, _I moaned in my head. I smiled awkwardly. "Yeah, and _this_ was me just realizing that I look really frumpy." And practically naked.

He chuckled a little bit, and let his eyes wander for a split second longer before offering me a drink. I waved him away, and crossing my arms tighter over my chest, I went to go sit down at the sofa while he went to go get a beer for himself.

When he came back, he began the conversation. "So Nia, what's going on?"

I sighed and looked away, out the window. Where to even _begin?_

"Well, uh. I met Jesse about a week ago – "

"He told me about the party. He told me that this pretty girl was trying to get drunk and was putting a lot of vodka back."

I laughed nervously. "Um, yeah...I was trying to."

Duke scooted closer. My stomach tightened as I felt his scent wash across me, and realized in horror that he smelled better than most humans I come across do. I kept myself from inhaling too deep, because the ache in my throat started a little bit again, and I had only hunted yesterday. "Why did you feel the need to get drunk, Nia?" he asked quietly.

Because I was losing my best friend and imprint and possibly the love of my life. "Because everything was falling apart," I whispered, looking wide-eyed at him. His dark eyes took on a darker shade with this revelation.

I couldn't tell him that I had been imprinted on by a werewolf when I was only a day old, or that I was a hybrid. I could never tell him how Seth had been there every day of my life, watching me grow at an unatural pace, while he stayed perpetually the same. I couldn't tell Duke that the connection that Seth and I had formed on the first day of my life gave me an automatic brother and best friend, or that he was always so understanding when I saw visions that disturbed me, always knowing exactly what to do to fend them off. I couldn't tell Duke that Seth smelled like rising bread and honey and _life. _

A fresh wave of despair washed over me. I had ruined it all, and it had all been taken away from me as punishment.

I blinked tears back as he spoke. "When I first met you, my first thought was, 'This girl looks like she has been through hell.'" Hee said this like it was a tough admission. I laughed without humor.

"It wouldn't be a lie."

Duke scooted even _closer _to me, putting an arm around my shoulders. His heat seemed to be pouring off of him and straight into my nostrils, which I was attempting not to breathe out of. "Will you tell me about him?"

I froze. He said _him._

"Seth," I whispered.

"I see," he said gruffly.

"He...he was my best friend." It felt like a dagger using it in the past tense.

Duke didn't say anything, so I continued. "I had known him practically all my life. I...I grew up with him. He knows me, or _knew _me, better than anyone. And, well, we went to John's party...and at that time, I was so in love with him, I didn't know what to do with myself. I got all dressed up and everything for him, and for a split second, I thought that maybe we could have a chance. He just..._looked _at me differently. I went to go get drinks when we got there, and a bunch of guys were intercepting me, so it took awhile to get back to where he was. But when I got back..." I drew in a shuddering breath, about to admit to the killing blow. "He was kissing this blonde – he was _kissing _her, and I felt everything...crumble. And then I tried to get drunk but I don't get drunk very easily, and Jesse found me. I didn't feel like I had much to lose after that, so we...well..."

"You don't have to say the rest," Duke said in a strangled voice.

We were quiet. How do you even respond to something like that?

Retelling the events for the first time was more painful than I had expected. I felt like it was ripping me open, delivering the final blow. Insult to injury.

"Nia, I think you're pretty amazing," he admitted finally.

"Or pretty pathetic." I couldn't stop myself from saying it out loud. It was just easier to admit things to Duke. Maybe it was because he _looked_ like home. He didn't feel like it though.

He shook his head at me. "No, no. You're in pain, but you're _not _pathetic."

I tried to feel that connection with Duke. I really did. I tried to think that maybe, for once, I could imagine a life without Seth. Maybe Duke would be that distracting fold, that special factor, so if Seth decided he didn't want me, I had something to fall back on.

But the thought of never seeing Seth again, no matter how much things were messed up between us, was too much to bear.

And I didn't want to make Duke my Plan B. That wasn't fair, especially since he was helping me now.

I closed my eyes tightly. He was right; I _was _in pain. It was the hot, searing kind, coursing its way through my body right now.

_One step forward, two steps back._

"Nia, can I ask you something?" he asked after a moment.

I turned to look at him, but I didn't say anything. I nodded for him to continue. He seemed bothered by something, and my mind immediately wanted to begin deciphering it.

"What's so bad about Jesse? I mean, I know his normal style is to just to hit-it-and-quit-it, and I know that sounds cheesy, but it's the truth. But he stuck with you. Obviously you're something different to him – "

"I don't see why," I mumbled.

His lips mashed into a tight line before continuing. " – because you're clearly something different to a lot of people. There's something special about you." His eyes got even darker.

"Maybe he can't resist the downtrodden?" I offered unhelpfully, wondering why I came here in the first place. I should have just called Jesse and broken up with him then.

Duke rolled his eyes. "Definitely not that." I shrugged. At least he was honest.

"Whatever it is, Jesse really isn't that bad. It might be worth keeping us around," he added sadly.

I sighed. He had figured out my plan to leave _everyone. _It was the hardest for me to leave Duke, but I hated to disappoint my family and they were number one, without question.

"Don't go," he muttered, when I began to pull away and stand up. His hand latched onto my wrist.

"Maybe I should just call him instead," I offered.

"No!" he said a little too loudly. It was my turn for my lips to mash together.

"Nia...please."

I groaned internally. "What do you want me to say, Duke? I can guarantee, without a shadow of a doubt, that Jesse and I will never work out. Ever. The situation is too wrong – "

"I wasn't talking about Jesse that time," he said quietly, and still gripping my wrist, he moved closer. "I was talking about us."

I blinked. "What about us?"

"Don't leave."

What shocked me the most was that he said it as a command. Cold and vicious and hard. And it came from _Duke._

_What the hell?_

I opened my mouth to protest, but he closed the distance between my mouth and his instead. We had been standing after I decided to move away, but after a blur of grabbing on his part, I was against the wall with his hot breath pouring into my mouth.

And it just felt wrong.

My hands were on his chest, trying to create some form of space between me and him. He was trying to kiss me, trying to make my mouth work with his, but I wouldn't allow it. Not at all. Not after what happened a week ago, when I saw my imprinted wolf kiss another girl. It was all too close to home.

And _too wrong._

Yet, some part of me was trying to fight the wrongness. There was a sliver, a little nestling that attempted to plant a seed in my head, trying to convince me that _something _about this was all right.

But _why? Why me? Why right now?_

"Duke, I don't think we should do this," I said breathlessly. I could easily push him off of me, and trust me, I would do that as a last resort, but for now, I focused on not exposing my nature. His lips moved to my neck after I refused to make myself work with him. I was shockingly calm and collected, more so than I could say for him. His erection was pressed against the inside of my thigh. I realized that I had been lifted off the ground, and I didn't know how I felt about that.

His hand grazed the top of my rips, just under my left breast, and I shuddered. His warmth was driving me insane more than anything; the smell of his abnormally delectable blood. The saliva pooled in my mouth before I could conquer the thirst, and I swallowed quickly, pushing that beside me.

I felt like some foreign body was trying to take me over. This wasn't _me. _Seth was, in Cathy Earnshaw's words, "more me than I was myself." Duke just felt wrong. Everything was wrong about this.

"Duke, stop," I said more forcefully. He didn't stop; he was still peppering my collarbone with kisses and sucking on my neck, probably giving me hickeys that I would have to explain later. As I tried to squirm from his grasp, he pressed on me harder and put his hand over my mouth.

His blood. _His blood. _

_What would it be like to taste?..._

I realized a horrific truth as reality slapped me in the face. His blood was another story, but what if I _hadn't_ been a hybrid?

I considered the position I was in, with him forcefully pushing me against the wall, with his hand over my mouth, and my ignored protests to stop. What would this be if there had been no possible way that he could win against me? What if I was actually as weak as I looked?

I could think of one thing: rape.

Pressing even harder against me with his one hand still over mine, he made a move to unzip his pants.

My eyes widened in horror. Okay, _now _I was getting nervous.

Had he been like this all along?

I would have to make a move fast. I wasn't going to be a victim if I could help it.

I easily grabbed his wrist that was connected to the hand on my face, and pulled lightly, which was enough. My grip was loose, so his hand qucikly slipped free and found its way back over my mouth, with a forceful growl added on his part.

His erection was free and was poking hideously right where my exposed panties were.

He was planning on _raping me._

This time, I wasn't so gentle. I grabbed his wrist and squeezed.

He screamed and let me go immediately. I felt a couple bones crack. On one hand, it was shocking that I could do so much damage with a simple squeeze. On the other, I really didn't care.

"What the fuck?" he yelled, cradling his wrist to his chest. I was zeroed in on the wrist he cradled, planning on making another grab for it and causing more damage. That's why I didn't see the sudden move he made.

He pulled his good hand back, and slapped me across the face.

I didn't hurt, of course. But I stood there, absolutely dumbfounded and shocked. He _hit _me.

_He hit me. He actually hit me._

I was overcome with such a startling sense of anger that my lips pulled back from my teeth, and I snarled, long and viciously.

I've never seen a human turn that shade of white.

"Nia...? I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean it..." He started quaking with fear, his heartbeat picked up, and he began to back away from my slow advance. I started stalking him like the predator I was, knowing that if I choosed, I could kill him with a single blow of _my_ hand.

"_You hit me," _I snarled. How many other girls had he done this to? How many defenseless girls did he take advantage of? _Was he like this the whole time?_

I felt like a complete fool. I had let him in a little bit, thought he was a great guy. Just the thought of it made me feel sick.

I felt another little sliver creep into my mind, and I growled fiercely. I attacked it mentally, ripping it to shreds and sinking my teeth into it, destroying it into nothing.

I realized about halfway through the significance of me doing this.

I was Seraphina Marie Cullen-Whitlock, half-vampire, half-human. I was the imprint to Seth Henry Clearwater, and Seth was _mine. _

And just like that, I was back. I was really back.

And I needed Seth, _now._

With the most genuine grin plastered on my face, I closed the distance between Duke and I, grabbing the collar of his shirt and dangling him at an angle where he would have fallen otherwise. Now that I was in the best position, I got really close to his face, feeling his once delicious breath get shallow. My grin got wider.

"You were more of a help than I bargained for," I growled triumphantly, "Tell Jesse never to call me again. Also, if I find out that you hurt another girl again, like you attempted with me, I will rip out your testicles and toss them in a blender."

I watched him turn slightly green. I moved my lips to be next to his ear. "It's better if you don't tell anyone about this...encounter, are we understood?"

He nodded quickly, turning an alarming shade of white. I released him, watching him fall to the floor.

I crossed the room confidently and opened the door. He was on his knees, dry heaving. He shuddered when he saw me looking at him. "Remember what I said," I threatened, throwing an insolent wink in his direction before walking out the door.

I laughed the whole way home.

* * *

><p>I got to Nessie and Jake's after running for about thirty minutes. The run was great. Everything made sense again. There was only one thing missing – and it was Seth Clearwater.<p>

When I walked into the threshold, multiple people were pacing, clear visions of worry. They saw me and erupted into sighs.

My mother came marching up to me with an angry expression on her face. I didn't leave her like that for long though. I ran to her and gave her the biggest hug I think I had ever given her.

She stood stock still, obviously not knowing what to do. I smelled heavily like someone else and a little like sex and weed. And I was hugging her. A lot. I felt more like myself, except even stronger. I was _definitely_ stronger.

I pulled back and gave her a small smile. Her eyes got wide.

"Nice to see you too, Mom," I said when she didn't say anything.

Her mouth fell open.

"Seraphina?" she whispered.

I nodded, blushing a little bit. I couldn't say I felt like _myself _yet, because there was still a huge, overwhelming piece of me missing.

But I was definitely _there._

"You're..." She trailed off, looking over me like I had just myself transformed into a werewolf. This was the point when she realized that she was supposed to be mad at me. Her eyes automatically narrowed. "Where did you leave to just now?" she hissed.

I winced and stepped back, automatically abashed. "I had to deal with some pressing issues," I told her.

"_Pressing. Issues?" _she hissed again, and I cowered a little bit. "There is a bit of a _pressing issue _right now! Seraphina, you could have been killed! Why do you insist on being so _reckless?_ There _happens _to be a vampire that wants to possibly kill you, and you're out _by yourself, _dealing with your_ own _pressing issues!"

"I know Mom, I'm really sorry," I said quietly.

She sighed, her anger ebbing a little bit. She stared at me for a long moment, genuinely concerned about me. I didn't blame her.

No one else got involved, not even my dad. Everyone knew that Alice angry was more than enough.

"Where did you go?" she asked finally.

I pursed my lips. This would be the hard part. I caught eyes with Grandma, who looked immensely guilty. I gave her a small smile to ease some of it.

"Well, uh, I went to go take care of some people I met that were, well, bad influences this week," I admitted.

"_Take care of?_" Dad pressed, "What did you do?" Aw...he caught onto that.

I couldn't hide the guilt that came forth, which he surely picked up on. He cocked an eyebrow – all ears.

"Well, I told them I didn't want to be friends with them." Not a lie.

"Seraphina," Dad said sternly. Looked like things were almost back to normal.

I looked down at my feet and furrowed my eyebrows. "Well... I _might _have scared one."

Everyone bristled as expected, and my mom and dad's reaction were something like: !

I held up my hands. "No you guys, I have it under control! I took care of it."

My mom and dad exchanged a look before, without wasting a moment, hustled me out to Jake's suburban. They were both flanking me, my mother steering me by my elbow. They were never rough, but I could feel the worry seeping from my dad over the possibility of me ruining the secret of our nature. "In," Mom instructed.

I was in trouble. I got in the backseat quietly as my dad went around to the driver's side and peeled out of the driveway.

"Explain," Mom instructed. _Oh crap oh crap oh crap..._

"His name is Duke and he's an incorrigable twat and he tried to rape me but then I pushed him off of me and I snarled at him and he got really frightened and I think he might have passed out when I left because he was so scared," I blurted out nervously in one sentence. It may or may not have been my dad's doing.

Speaking of my loving father, he slammed on the brakes right in the middle of the road and twisted to face me with a mask of the blackest Hell on his face. "_He. Did. What?" _he snarled.

I cowered again. My dad let out a string of profanities I've never heard him use as he pulled out his phone and dialed a number – Emmett's.

He put it on speaker as he hit the gas again, pushing 120 miles per hour. Emmett answered on the first ring. "Jasper," he greeted.

"Follow our trail," he snarled, "I'm going to need back up, because I'm going to kill this fucker."

"What happened?" Emmett asked, all business and concern.

"He tried to rape my little girl."

And that was it. The growling I heard on the other end, from my entire family, was enough to know that Duke had no idea how big of a hole he was in. "Rose and I are coming right now," Emmett snarled, and hung up.

If there was one thing worse than Emmett, it was Rosalie.

Usually my mom would be trying to calm my dad down in this situation, but my mother, a face of perfect elfin features, looked like an avenging angel. She was to be sure that there would be no sign of him after he was gone.

"Address," Dad forced out, his fingers starting to crush the steering wheel. With a slightly shaky voice, I responded, also telling him that it was a suburban neighborhood so we couldn't make too much of a scene. I didn't think he heard me.

We eventually got to Duke's house. It was still just him inside, I could tell that much by the absence of heartbeats. My dad looked immensely impatient waiting for my aunt and uncle to arrive, but in reality, it was only about thirty seconds later did they arrive in Nessie's Mercedes. They must have figured out that Duke lived in a suburban neighborhood and they couldn't just run up to the house.

I was surprised with who got out of the car. Yes, it was Emmett and Rosalie, but Allegra also emerged, without Embry or her parents.

"What are you doing here, Allie?" I asked, shocked, as my family made their way up to the front doorstep.

"They thought that my gift would be useful," she said quietly, hanging in the back with me. _Of course_, Allie was a physical shield! Her shield operated close to that of an indestructable steel wall. That was smart of them to bring her.

Rosalie got in front, knocking on the door a couple times with a barely-restrained hand. I could tell that she was having a hard time not clawing the door open.

Duke was slow to answer the door. But eventually, the door did open.

And they didn't waste any time.

Mom and Dad burst through the fold, and I was genuinely scared for a moment that they were going to kill him. Duke fell onto the floor and started sobbing, and my dad grabbed him by the hook of the arm and dragged him onto the sofa.

"I would like to have a little _talk _with you," he snarled viciously, "I hear that you tried to _rape _my little girl."

"You're Nia's f-father?" he stuttered out, obviously taking in the fact that my dad didn't look anything close to being my father.

But my dad was so angry and serious in that moment that he looked like he had aged years over Duke, as well as me.

"_Yes,_" Dad snarled, getting into his face. I could feel the effect of my dad's gift on Duke. I was surprised Duke hadn't had a heart attack yet.

"I could quite easily kill you right now, but that'd be too difficult to cover up," my dad said rather evenly.

Duke would be an idiot if he didn't believe every word.

"Funny how things work, Duke," I muttered from the back of the group, giving him an easy glare. "You thought you were scared of _me. _You're quite wrong about that. Yes, you were right to be scared of me, but in fact, my family is much, _much _scarier. Perhaps you should have thought of the consequences when you tried to cover my mouth with your hand and force yourself into me against the wall."

I didn't know that it was possible for my dad to get angrier than he already was, but it was possible. Definitely possible.

"You _did what?_" my father screeched. His hand formed a claw, and was about to bring it down onto Duke's head.

Allie chose that time to use her power, god bless her. Maybe I shouldn't have provoked my dad, but Duke tried to rape me, and he could do it to other girls, easily. I guess in my mind he deserved it. Allie stopped my father's hand right in its tracks.

Knowing that he had made a mistake, he curled his hand into a fist and slowly lowered it, giving Duke the blackest expression of hatred I had ever seen.

My mother stepped forward and got right in his face. "I'm the mother," she said gleefully, giving him a snarl. He cowarded away from her, just as he did with my dad. Duke was sobbing uncontrollably. It was clear we were something more than human at that point.

Dad, with Allie standing really close, moved in on Duke. "I don't give a damn if this was a rare occasion, or that you've never attempted _that_ with a girl before. But let me give you a clear warning: if you _ever_ so much as say a disrespectful word towards a girl again, I will crush your skull – " my dad let his fingers trail on Duke's head, " – and rip out your heart." Dad's fingers went to Duke's chest.

Duke nodded fiercely.

"This encounter never happened," Dad told him forcefully, adding an extra amount of fear into his punch. Duke's heart was stuttering as he nodded again.

"I think he's had enough," Rosalie said, putting an arm on Dad's shoulder. Dad relented, backing away slowly, never taking his glare away from Duke.

I could say beyond a shadow of a doubt that Duke would never say anything about us to anyone.

We decided to leave the house then. Emmett added the extra brawn to my dad's enormous threat, and gave him one of his own: "I _will _fuck you up, I promise you that."

Duke passed out after Emmett's threat, and Rosalie threw him on her shoulders to go put him in his bed. By the flop we heard upstairs, it wasn't gentle. That's when we decided it was time to leave, and never return.

* * *

><p><strong>Seth POV – Five Hours Later<strong>

I was in Boise.

_I _was in _Boise._

I could practically _feel _Sera at this point. I was close enough to know that she was feeling better, which was good. Really good.

Then maybe I'd have a chance of getting her back again.

_Slow down Clearwater, that's a bit too optimistic._

I wasted no time in running the rest of the way home though. I had to start begging to her _now._

I let my mind shut down, curiously blank after all the time I had spent thinking while I was away. I could only see her beautiful face in my mind, but as a side-by-side. One from a week ago; happy, healthy, gorgeous. The comparison was the image from Jake's mind, the Sera that my betrayal had caused. Hollow. Sad. Cold. Pale.

I hoped to never see Seraphina like that ever again, or to ever cause that pain for her in the way that I did.

I could possibly be the dumbest imprinted wolf alive.

And there it was – home. The house that the Cullens had bought for the wolves, but was only inhabited by Embry and I. No lights were on at the house. That would be nice, to just be the only one for now.

I went around the backway and phased to a human form. It had been a long time since I had stood on two legs, and I promptly fell to the ground and groaned.

I tried to stretch my limbs as I stood up, wobbily at first. But just like riding a bike, I caught on fast.

I grabbed the spare key from under a potted plant, and let myself in. I immediately went to my room to grab some clothes, when I passed by the mirror in Embry's room.

I was covered in dirt, but I could have told you that. My hair was shaggy, and a beard was starting to grow. I looked homeless. But I was shocked by how hollow and pale I looked.

I looked like a wolf that had just lost their imprint.

I closed my eyes tightly and turned away from my reflection. I could care about the details _after_ I had Sera back.

I decided that it would be a good idea to take a shower first, at least feel a little better. And as I stepped into the cold stream, I let the water run over me, but not really feeling.

Feeling was too hard.

I quickly washed myself and got out. It was true, I felt ten times better, but it didn't erase the pain.

I shaved my face for good measure, but I didn't do anything about the shaggy hairstyle I was now sporting. I didn't think it mattered.

I threw on the first pair of shorts I could find before I picked up the phone to dial Jacob.

"Hello?" he answered warily. It was coming from the house phone, so it would have to be me or a really dumb burgalar.

"Hi."

I heard him drop the phone before picking it up again. "Hold on," he whispered, and snuck out of the room.

He talked at a normal voice this time. "Seth, man, you're home," he said excitedly.

"Yeah, I'm here...where's Sera?"

"Seraphina is in the other room. We're back at the big house."

"She's not living with you guys anymore?" I asked.

"No, she moved back today. Dude, it was the weirdest thing. Esme let Seraphina go off on her own even with the vampire threat and everything, and everyone was freaking out because they couldn't find her. And then like two hours later she returns with like a complete attitude change. She looked _hopeful. _But that was before we found out – " He cut off suddenly.

"Found out what, Jake?" I said, suddenly on edge for this revelation.

"I think we should save that for another time," he said quietly.

"No Jake, I want to know – "

"Not right now." His voice had the undertone of the alpha, and I immediately cursed him.

"Are you coming over?" Jake asked suddenly.

My heart broke into double time, and the knot I had in my stomach was wound so tightly that I thought I might puke.

"Should I?" I whispered feebily.

"She's in a pretty okay mood right now – "

"Time for me to mess it up," I said miserably.

Jacob chuckled. "No, I don't think she'd be opposed to you, actually. She's been just as lost without you as you have without her."

That invigorated me with a new sense of hope. She might not even be _opposed _to me.

"Oh, and Seth?" Jake added.

"Yeah?"

"Call her Seraphina. Not Sera. She's been a bit touchy about that since you left, since you gave her that name and all."

There went my hope. She changed her _name _because of me.

"Are you sure I should come over?" I made myself force out. I was actually scared of Jake saying no rather than yes. I just had to see her face – once.

"Yes. We'll be here," Jake promised gently.

I hung up the phone, feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders again.

I finished my outfit with a shirt, a blue shirt. It was Sera's favorite shade of the color.

I tried to shut down my brain again, but it wasn't as easy now that I was in human form again. There was no other side to give myself over to, no animal instinct. Just me.

As I hopped into my car and peeled out of the driveway, I thought about how much had changed since the last time I saw Sera_phina. _The side-by-side comparison was enough for me.

My hands started getting jittery and nervous as I closed in on the house. Honestly, I didn't know why I was driving, because I could have easily ran over here in probably a shorter time frame. Maybe I wanted to give myself time to think, maybe I wanted to give myself something to focus on. I wasn't quite sure.

All I knew was that in a shorter time frame that I was ready for, I arrived at the Cullens, with Sera inside.

I could hear the sound of her magnificent voice coming out of the window. She was chatting easily with what sounded like Jasper, and she seemed to be brighter in spirits. But I could tell by the sound of her voice, the voice that I could pick out of a loud room, that something was off. She still sounded better than the last time I heard her voice, when she was yelling at me to leave her...

I shut my eyes tightly, but I couldn't avoid the small tear that leaked out of the corner of my eye. I was in so much pain.

I started to breathe heavily. My vision seemed a little blurred around the edges.

I didn't realize how nervous I was to talk to her until now.

I tried to focus on the connection that we had. I could feel it tugging harshly at me, telling me to move my ass and fix everything because I was an idiot.

I slowly slid my body out of the car, feeling as though I weighed 800 pounds. The knife in my heart wouldn't go away.

I just had to see her first.

I didn't close the door. I didn't want to notify her anymore that I was here than what was needed. I just _had _to see her before I could do anything else.

Silently, I crouched down and ran swiftly up the the front window. I stayed like that for a few minutes before I dared to look up at her. My hands were shaking violently.

_One...Two...Three..._

I peeked my head ever-so-slightly over.

My legs almost gave out.

She was sitting sideways from me, with her dad and mom flanking both of her sides. Her hands were crossed dilligently in her lap, and she was listening to something her mom was saying without really looking at her. I had no care over what Alice was saying. I couldn't peel my eyes off Sera's face.

I could see the sapphire blue in her eyes from here. Her hair was tied away from her face to reveal the perfection in her small features – her suprisingly full lips, her small nose, her big eyes, that creamy, luscious skin...

It felt like I could really see again. I could breathe easier. It felt like I had a sense of purpose renewed in me. Everything just made _sense. _

My heart lurched when I saw that she was wearing one of my old black shirts.

That gave me the confidence I needed.

I moved away from the window, and made a move to the front door, almost considering a grand entrance.

But never in my life will I forget what happened next.

As I walked up the porch, the door opened for me.

And the person on the other side?

You guessed it. Seraphina.

Her beautiful eyes met mine and I felt the planets realigning, just as they should.

"Hello, Seth."

* * *

><p><em>AN: Oh god, I'm a horrible human being for stopping right there. Comment and subscribe? (: _

_I will update soon._

_-Chels._


	22. Iris Has Her Week and a Day

_A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long. I was really unhappy with the way I wrote it the first time, so I did tough love on it and basically rewrote the chapter. Plus this chapter is fairly short, which is no bueno._

_To make it up to you guys, I think you'll like this chapter. :)_

**Chapter Song: **_Iris_, by The Goo Goo Dolls. (excerpt below)

_I'd give up forever to touch you,_

_Because I know that you'd feel me somehow,_

_You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be,_

_And I don't wanna go home right now._

_And all I can taste is this moment,_

_And all I can breathe is your life,_

_And sooner or later it's over,_

_I just don't wanna miss you tonight._

_And I don't want the world to see me,_

'_Cause I don't think that they'd understand,_

_When everything's made to be broken,_

_I just want you to know who I am._

* * *

><p><strong>Seth POV<strong>

"_Hello, Seth."_

I would remember those two words forever.

Sera was standing three feet away from me, but it was the closest to heaven that I had been in a long time.

I inhaled her lavendar-and-musk scent greedily, feeling as though for the first time this week, I could breathe properly. She said nothing, and I stared at her mouth in anticipation, waiting for her to start yelling or hissing or _something._

My entire body shook with relief from being so close to her. It was sick, I know. But I had been dying up until this point.

In that moment, I felt like a younger version of myself again, always eager to please. Except this time, there was no way I _couldn't. _I would literally do anything to please her, because nothing else mattered enough before her. Simple as that.

We both gaped at each other like we had imprinted all over, and believe me, the force was pretty overwhelming. From not being with her for a week, it was almost like we _were._ The tension between us was electric. We were both leaning in towards each other at an angle, like gravity itself was pushing with all of its might to make us be together.

I wanted to give in _so bad, _holy shit. My body was literally shaking with the effort.

But by the indecipherable look in her eye, I knew that it wasn't the best game plan. I knew Sera enough to know that the emotions she was feeling at that moment were enough to set the world on fire; I didn't need to push it. She was a force of nature. If she set the world on fire, I would be the first one there with the water hose. Or at least, I hoped she would let me.

We didn't say anything. We just stood there, bewildered and confused at the same time. I could see, just by how much she had aged in the past week, that she had definitely changed. She had clearly lost weight, which was bad for her already small frame. I felt a wave of concern wash over me. When _was _the last time she ate something? Her hip bones were sticking out of her shirt – _my shirt – _and her cheekbones had sunken in by a slight degree. This couldn't have been seen by the average person, but for me, someone who had been with her every day of her life, I knew the difference.

I would be lying if I said that it didn't scare me. I stared into her eyes, trying to tell her this. _Sera, please, take care of yourself. For me – no wait, scratch that! Fuck. Oh man, I didn't mean that. Not for me, you probably could care less about me. I know it's probably hard for you to look at me right now, but please. I need you to do it._

I could still see everything I needed to see in those big, dark blue eyes of hers.

There was _so much _I needed to say to her, but I couldn't bring myself to say them. There was no way I could ruin this moment. I just needed to be close to her.

We _had_ been moving closer to each other, millimeter by millimeter. The force of the imprint was too strong to deny. We had been _made for each other. _Different but compatible in every way.

I had to physically stop myself from crushing my body into hers. I knew that she didn't like me anymore, but I still could hope.

_Please, Sera._

I noted every fraction she moved, every facial expression – which suddenly turned alight –

One second, I was standing, feeling the _huge_ weight of our imprint, and the next, I was staring up at the sky, not knowing what the hell just hit me.

"I – Seth Clearwater – why – did – you – _leave?" _Sera was on top of me, _livid_. Maybe I should have seen it coming, but like always, I didn't.

She was pounding on my chest, sobbing with everything that she had. I was crushed. I wished I could say that I saw it coming, but like everything that Sera did, I was blown away – and completely shocked.

I let her hit me, to be honest. I didn't try to stop it once. I layed there on the floor, taking every blow with humility, like I should. I winced as she threw a particularly hard one on my chest. I knew my chest would be covered in bruises, but I would gladly take them, one hundred times over.

She was just so beautiful when she was angry.

Bad thing to think right now, Clearwater.

"I have been _so depressed _without you – you – you _imbecile!_" She sputtered around the word, even in her fury still unable to say even an almost curse word properly. "_Why did you go?" _she snarled and moaned and sobbed, all at once. She made it possible.

"B-Because that's what you wanted, I thought," I admitted, my voice small. She scoffed and slapped me (relatively lightly) across the face, and she was even more livid than she had been before.

"Why are you such an _idiot,_" she moaned, slapping my chest with both palms. She threw her hands over her face and started sobbing heartily into them.

I was so confused. I was _sure _she hated me, and now she was saying that I should have never left? I layed there shaking, with her on top of me. I just couldn't even understand what was going on. Between her livid and depressed emotions and my fragile ones, I felt close to exploding.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered feebily, knowing they wouldn't make a difference. "I'm sorry I'm such an asshat and I left you without trying to make it better. I'm sorry I kissed that girl. I _promise _you that I pulled away and didn't talk to her for the rest of that night, and I will literally spend my whole life making it up to you. I will _never _put you into that position again – "

She started crying even harder.

"Please," I forced out, not sure if I meant _please stop crying _or _please forgive me. _

She wiped her eyes messily and made a move to get off my lap. Her face was down, but I could see the tears falling.

I felt my heart breaking again when she made that move to get off my lap. No. No no no no no no.

I did something that I should have done when I first left – I made a move.

I snatched her wrists. "_Seth – " _she hissed, but it was too late. I buried my face into her stomach. She was kneeling, ready to get up, but I just _wouldn't _let her.

"Don't Sera, please hear me out," I begged. I waited a long, heavy moment for her to say something, anything. I just needed to know that there was a _chance._ Finally, I felt her sigh. I felt just like a little kid again, pleading with my mom to stay. But there was so much more at stake now.

"Don't walk away from me, I can't stand it," I whispered. My voice faltered weakly on the end.

She whimpered, and I looked up. A tear fell on my face. Our faces were only about four inches apart now.

"Why did you leave?"

"Because you told me to." I knew that wasn't the answer she was looking for, but it was true.

She looked hurt. I swallowed and continued. "You have to realize that I would do anything that you asked me to. If you told me to go fuck off and jump off a bridge right now, I would be there within the hour – "

She gasped and slapped me again. "Don't fucking talk like that."

I blinked.

"I'm not kidding," she warned, but tears filled her eyes again.

"I didn't think you were," I murmured.

She sighed, I felt her anger ebb away some. "Please don't say that again. I..._couldn't..._if you died." She drew a shuddering breath and caught my eye shyly, before a hardened exterior grew over it again.

"Seth, do you know why I am so hurt over the fact that you left when I told you?" she breathed.

I shook my head no.

She huffed her Sera huff. "Because I can't believe that if I told you to walk away, you _just would! _It almost seems easy - "

"Stop."

Her lips formed a tight line. My heart was racing and I was breathing short breaths. I was hurt that she would think that it was _easy _to walk away from her. From _her!_

__"Seraphina, leaving you was one of the hardest things I had to do, and it was only for a week. But haven't you ever heard that when you love someone, you have to let them go if that's what's best? The way you told me to leave you that night made me think that you _really wanted me to leave you. _It killed me, but I did it, because you didn't want me anywhere near you, and that's what was important. You. Why should I stay if I was making you unhappy? That's literally all I want in life, to make you happy, whether it's with me...or somebody else."

She blinked a lot and furrowed her eyebrows, studying every inch of my face. Her eyes softened a lot, and she seemed closer to the Sera that I knew.

"Okay."

I let out a sigh of relief. "Okay?"

"Okay," she repeated slowly.

Okay.

She looked down at my hand, a vice grip around her wrist. I realized that I was clinging onto her. I let her go immediately. I wouldn't be able to stand it if I hurt her again.

She furrowed her eyebrows, and studiously looked at my face again. She was trying to find something – I don't know what – but I hoped she found it.

Her eyes suddenly looked pained again. "Seth," she whispered, her eyes down and voice barely audible, even for me.

My heart was gallumping painfully. I swallowed thickly. This was it. She was going to reject me.

I wanted to throw myself off a bridge. I automatically felt a weird tingling where my heart was. Rejection. Rejection rejection rejection.

I felt myself fizzle and burn out. She was going to reject me. I _knew _she was.

I was so glad that Sera was unpredictable, because instead...

She connected her mouth with mine.

Her hands caught fistfuls of my hair as she crushed her lips onto mine, and I would be lying if I said I didn't do the same.

The feeling of her mouth moving with mine was...indescribable.

It was a searing burn that was not at all unpleasurable – it was complete and undiluted heaven, so much so that I almost felt guilty for it. I thought that we would spontaneously combust. Our emotions became one in that moment, like molten lava and rock, and suddenly, I didn't want to be her water hose – I wanted to set the world on fire _with _her.

I couldn't believe that I had lived my whole life without ever feeling this. I loved the time I had with Sera as a kid, but the Sera I had now in my arms, it pretty much summed up everything wonderful on Earth.

Everything we had was so perfectly connected in that moment of our kiss, that I knew that after this day, I could never live without another one of her kisses again. Her hot breath, her perfect scent, the amount of _passion _and _love _that she poured into this kiss was too perfect for words.

I could feel the bond of our imprint sealed away forever. I knew that nothing could rip it apart or get in the way. I had handed her a piece of me that I never wanted back.

Her kissing slowed. Our hands were still knotted in each other's hair, and the passion was still there, but we were simply reveling in each other and the knowledge that we could never go back, nor did we want to. We had our speed bump, and now there was nothing left to get in the way.

I pulled back from her, which caused me immeasurable pain, but then kissed her once – twice – three times more.

"Seth," she whispered again my mouth softly. She leaned in gently to give me a perfect kiss of her own. I could feel her silky, long eyelashes tracing patterns on my skin. I felt with wonder the perfect creaminess and softness of her skin, so pressed up against mine.

I was home.

I sat us up again, never even moving her a fraction of an inch away from my hold. "God, Sera," I muttered again her ear, capturing it with my teeth lightly.

She giggled, and it was music to my ears. "You're not a bad kisser yourself."

I was startled with how bold that comment was, but I cracked a smile. I laughed loudly, and she threw back her head and laughed too, and the music that our voices created together definitely deserved another long, passionate kiss. When she pulled back this time, she sighed contentedly.

"I missed you," I whispered. It was the understatement of the century, but I said it feverently, not even being able to make her understand just how much I did.

She shook her head and slapped me again.

My face slipped into a pout. "What was that for?"

"For being dumb! How could you ever believe that I didn't want you to be around me?" she demanded. I sighed.

We had been over this just seconds before, but I would keep repeating it if it made her happy. "Because I fucked up pretty miserably, if I do say so myself." This wasn't necessarily a Seth kind of style, being so hard on myself. I usually never was, but I was also pretty honest, and I knew I couldn't lie to her.

She closed her eyes tightly. "Stop."

I stared at her, wide-eyed. I knew something else was going on, but right now, I didn't want to ask. I wasn't going to pry her open. I was going to wait, and she was going to tell me because she was Sera and I was Seth and it just _was. _

She was breathing heavily, her eyelids hooded. Her eyes were sparkling in the moonlight; lighting up her own moon-silver specks, stunning me momentarily. The bright moonlight made her creamy white, and with her raven black hair and pink lips, she looked perfect. She looked like an angel, and my breath caught momentarily.

"I'll try," I said, finally relenting to her question. The blue in her eyes sparkled for a moment before fading into her black irises. I couldn't control the kiss that I gave her afterwards, all the while wondering how I could have gotten so lucky.

I pulled back and looked at her seriously. "Sera?" I asked.

"Mmmm?" She was planting small kisses on my neck, and I almost forgot what I was going to ask her. The feeling of her lips on my bare skin...

I bit my lip and groaned out, "Do you want to go on a date with me tomorrow?" I sounded breathy and less than serious or romantic, which was not what I was going for. I blushed, knowing what I probably _did _sound like.

She pulled back, with a grin plastered on her face. I was relieved that I hadn't made her uncomfortable. "Really?"

I chuckled and nodded, unable to be serious again. Our relationship was too natural to be anything but carefree when I was with her. An "easy" day for Sera and I was a _bad _day. Our relationship had always been more than easy – she was my best friend. She's always been too smart for her age, so I always felt like I could just _tell _her everything and anything. Being uncomfortable or awkward, even in the past few months for us, was just never a part of our relationship I guess.

And _god _it was pretty much back to normal, all with that one kiss. Except it was better.

"Yeah. I actually wanted to take you somewhere special."

She cocked her eyebrow, but nodded. "Where is this special place?" she asked.

I grinned. "Nope, can't find out until tomorrow."

She huffed, and I kissed her nose. "You're cute when you want to know everything."

"I'll find out by tomorrow," she promised, and tapped her head knowingly.

I just stared at her, wondering how I ever got someone so perfect. I know, it was a weird time to acknowledge that, but my Sera was too wonderful and special for words.

I kissed her softly, cupping her perfect face in my hand, feeling her fingers trail over my collarbone. I did the same with her; my fingers lightly traced the outline of her silky skin, stetched over her collarbone, all the way to the tips of her shoulders, as I captured her bottom lip with my teeth. She let out a light moan.

I'd be lying if I said it wasn't hot.

She giggled and pulled away, and my face slipped into a pout again. She giggled even more. "I guess I should catch up on my sleep, so I can figure this date out," she told me, and stood up. The absence of her body heat pressed against mine left me cold, something I never felt.

Dear lord, she was _teasing _me.

I stood up with her, grabbing her hand. "Can I at least walk you to your door?" I asked.

She furrowed her eyebrows and gave me a confused smile. "The door is three feet away."

"I meant to your room." I blushed like an idiot. _Seth, you've been in her room a thousand times, stop it._

Her eyes widened a little bit, and she blushed too. "Oh – um, yeah. That works."

I chewed on my lip as I lead her into her house. I noticed that her family had evacuated to give us some privacy, which I appreciated. That gave me free reign to lean down and press my lips against hers.

"I will never get tired of that," I told her as I pulled my face away. I wished that I could just kiss her without ever taking a break, but she needed her beauty sleep, and her needs were number one to me.

No matter how hard it was. I sighed internally.

She peeked up at my through her incredibly long eyelashes and smiled sweetly. I couldn't resist another drawn-out kiss.

"I _really_ never will," I promised again, leaning my forehead down on hers. She laughed.

"Are you going to walk me to my room or not, Clearwater?" she joked, pushing me aside and then skipping ahead of me. I was literally dumbfounded by how perfect this night had turned out to be. It was almost as if nothing had ever happened.

_How did I end up so lucky? Clearwater, you are so lucky and you probably haven't got a clue._

I captured her from behind and threw her on my shoulder as she pealed with laughter. I was laughing so hard that I had to stop mid-staircase to get it out of my system. It just felt _good _to laugh after the week we had. I set her down when we got to the top of the stairs, but I didn't let go of her waist.

"Not very traditional," she commented as she recaptured my hand.

I smiled and blushed, but didn't say anything. Her door was on the lefthand side at the end of the hall, but it was far too short of a walk than I would have liked. I stopped in front of her door, suddenly nervous.

Her intuitive eyes were looking at me with a special kind of focus, and I was blown away by how much a single look could affect me. A single look had fixed almost everything wrong in our relationship. A single look made me imprint on her. And a single look, right now, was shaking me and spinning me and tossing me and letting me just _fly. _"l, um – goodnight," I stuttered when we reached her door.

"Goodnight," she said quietly.

She pulled the collar of my shirt down, since she couldn't reach my neck, so that she could kiss me. I put my hands on her hips and pressed her lightly against the wood of the door. Her lavendar and musk scent was literally making me drunk; I would probably not be able to walk straight afterwards.

This would be a hard night to sleep through, without _her._

"I'll miss you," I said to her, after we finally pulled away to breathe.

"I wish you could stay," she muttered. My heart leaped joyously at her words. _She wanted me with her. _After everything that happened in this week from hell, the idea that she still wanted me with her, even more so than she did before, made me extremely humbled. That little fact made me happier than I could have thought possible.

Capturing my lips one last time, she opened the door behind her. She was blushing and smiling. It was too cute. "I'll see you tomorrow, Seth," she promised, giving me a light smile. I grinned at her.

"See you."

She gave me a little half-wave before closing the door behind her. I stood there, a little dumbfounded, _again._

I was totally in my own world as I walked down the staircase. I probably looked like a dopey, lovesick puppy. I just couldn't get over how perfect this night turned out to be.

I left the house, and there was still no sign of the Cullens, which I was perpetually grateful for. At this point, I wouldn't be able to form full sentences if they said anything to me.

I drove home and everything was a blur. I don't remember anything about it actually. I couldn't get those perfect kisses out of my head.

The house lights were on, meaning that Embry was home. I sighed and slid out of the car, entering reality again.

I opened the front door. I was surprised to find that Embry was there with Allegra, watching a movie. When I walked in, Embry stood up. "Seth!" he said excitedly. Embry usually doesn't get super excited for anything, so I was surprised.

He walked over and hugged me, clapping my back at the same time. "It's good to see you home."

"Yeah," I said a little dopey, not really even looking at him. I was wishing I was with Sera again. I _missed _her, but it was the kind of missing that came with a promise to see her again, which I could deal with.

Embry cocked an eyebrow and waved a hand in front of my face. I blinked a few times. "What?" I asked, shaking my head out of my daze.

Embry studied me for a long time. "You okay?" he asked.

I grinned, reassuring him. "Never better."

"You kissed Seraphina, didn't you?" he accused, laughing.

"Yeah." I had a permanent smile on my face. But why wouldn't I?

"Oh god," he teased, slapping his forehead. Allie laughed.

I grinned at him as he laughed. "Gonna go to bed," I informed him.

"You do that."

I pulled out my cell phone, telling Alice where I wanted to take her tomorrow, knowing it was a long shot. I was genuinely surprised when she said yes immediately, no questions asked. I was beyond grateful.

I stumbled into my bedroom and plopped onto my matress, and was asleep before my head even hit the matress.

* * *

><p><strong>Sera POV<strong>

After Seth left, I plopped myself onto the ground, not even knowing what to do with myself. I was smiling ear to ear.

Of course, that's when my family decided to show up.

A string of the female family members entered my room, minus Allegra. They were all giving me cheeky grins, and I blushed heavily.

"Well," Rosalie said with heavy innuendo, "how did it go?"

I threw my hands over my face with a wide grin, blushing all the way down to my collarbones. _When he touched me there, it felt so good..._

Everyone erupted into giggles. "_Sera!_" Bella accused jokingly, "_I_ didn't even blush that bad when I was human."

I bit my lip and giggled, turning onto my stomach. I didn't even know I could stop grinning and giggling. I never wanted to.

Bella tickled my side and I giggled some more. Mom pealed with laughter.

"I'll get you ready for your date tomorrow," Mom promised. When I blanched in horror, she winked.

"Well, since _I _know where he's taking you, you're going to need me."

My eye twitched just thinking about how _she _knew and _I _didn't. I sighed. She knew I hated to be left out of the loop.

"I'll find out," I promised, hoping that I would actually find out.

She winked at me and laughed.

"Let's leave her to her thoughts, she's gonna have a long day tomorrow," Rosalie said, ushering everyone out of my room. I gaped.

"Everyone knows?" I demanded.

Rosalie turned around and winked before shutting the door behind her. That was _so _not fair! I pouted, but it didn't last long. My mind was recaptured by Seth before I even saw it coming, and suddenly, I didn't care that everyone knew. All I knew was that I was going to experience it tomorrow, with Seth.

I relived every kiss, every touch. I was floating on air, cloud nine, in pure heaven. The only thing that put a bit of a wet blanket on my buzz was the events that transpired while he was gone, and I hoped he was going to be understanding and forgiving, and soon.

I went to bed that night peacefully, for the first time in what seemed like centuries. And while things still drifted in the back of my head waiting to rear its head, I pushed them all away, because this terrible week had suddenly and miraculously turned into a week-and-a-day, and _that _promised better things to come.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Like I said, short chapter, but their problems are fixed fairly simply...except for a few details that Sera hasn't told Seth about yet. More to come! I'm starting school soon and it's going to be touch, but I'll keep it regular. (:_

_-Chels._


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